BV  A615  .M285  1913 
M'Hardy,  George. 
The  higher  powers  of 
soul 


the 


THE  SHORT  COURSE  SERIES 


THE 
HIGHER  POWERS  OF  THE  SOUL 


GENERAL     PREFACE 


The  title  of  the  present  series  is  a  sufficient 
indication  of  its  purpose.  Few  preachers, 
or  congregations,  will  face  the  long  courses 
of  expository  lectures  which  characterised 
the  preaching  of  the  past,  but  there  is  a 
growing  conviction  on  the  part  of  some 
that  an  occasional  short  course,  of  six  or 
eight  connected  studies  on  one  definite 
theme,  is  a  necessity  of  their  mental  and 
ministerial  life.  It  is  at  this  point  the  pro- 
jected series  would  strike  in.  It  would 
suggest  to  those  who  are  mapping  out  a 
scheme  of  work  for  the  future  a  variety  of 
subjects  which  might  possibly  be  utilised  in 
this  way. 

The  appeal,  however,  will  not  be  restricted 
to    ministers    or    preachers.     The     various 
volumes  will  meet  the  needs  of  laymen  and 
ii 


General  Preface 

Sabbath-school  teachers  who  are  interested 
in  a  scholarly  but  also  practical  exposition 
of  Bible  history  and  doctrine.  In  the  hands 
of  office-bearers  and  mission-workers  the 
"  Short  Course  Series "  may  easily  become 
one  of  the  most  convenient  and  valuable 
of  Bible  helps. 

It  need  scarcely  be  added  that  while  an 
effort  has  been  made  to  secure,  as  far  as 
possible,  a  general  uniformity  in  the  scope 
and  character  of  the  series,  the  final  re- 
sponsibility for  the  special  interpretations 
and  opinions  introduced  into  the  separate 
volumes,  rests  entirely  with  the  individual 
contributors. 

A  detailed  list  of  the  authors  and  the 
subjects  will  be  found  at  the  close  of  each 
volume. 


!!i 


Volumes  already  Published 

A  Cry  for  Justice:  A  Study  in  Amos. 

By  Prof.  John  E.  McFadyen,  D.D. 

The  Beatitudes. 

By  Rev.  Robert  H.  Fisher,  D.D. 

The  Lenten  Psalms. 
By  the  Editor. 

The  Psalm  of  Psalms. 

By  Prof.  James  Stalker,  D.D. 

The  Song  and  the  Soil. 

By  Prof.  W.  G.  Jordan,  D.D. 

The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul. 

By  Rev.  George  M 'Hardy,  D.D. 


Price  6o  cents  net  per  Volume 


CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 


XLbc  Sbort  Courge  Series 

EDITED  BY 

Rev.  JOHN  ADAMS,  B.D. 


^Of  P«W^ 


SEP  25  1914 


12LoeicAi  «>^ 


..v5 


THE 

HIGHER  POWERS 
OF   THE  SOUL 


BY 


Rev.  GEO.  M'HARDY,  D.D. 

AQTHOX  OF  "SAVONAROLA"  AND  "  SCENES  AND  CHARACTERS  OV 
THB  EARLY  WORLD** 


NEW  YORK 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER^S  SONS 

1913 


TO 
MY   CONGREGATION 

AT 

KIRKCALDY 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

I.  The  Treatment  of  Conscience  .  .        i 

II.  The  Sanctification  of  Reason  .  .17 

III.  The  Responsibilities  of  Memory  .      33 

IV.  The  Higher  Uses  of  the   Imagination      49 
V.  The    Inspirational    Force   of    Faith 


AND  Hope  .... 
VI.  The  Discipline  of  the  Will 
VII.  The  Hallowing  of  Love  . 
VIII.  Christ's  Knowledge  of  the  Soul 

Appendix        •  .  .  . 

Index  ..... 


65 
81 

97 
115 

'131 
133 


vu 


"  For  I  do  nothing  but  go  about  persuading  you  all, 
old  and  young  alike,  not  to  take  thought  for  your 
persons,  or  your  properties,  but  first  and  chiefly  to  care 
about  the  greatest  improvement  of  the  soul." 

Socrates. 

"  Take  all  in  a  word :  the  truth  in  God's  breast 
Lies  trace  for  trace  upon  ours  impressed : 
Though  He  is  so  bright  and  we  so  dim, 
We  are  made  in  His  image  to  witness  Him." 

Browning. 


vm 


I. 

THE  TREATMENT  OF  CONSCIENCE. 


THE  TREATMENT  OF 
CONSCIENCE. 

**  And  herein  do  I  exercise  myself,  to  have  always  a 
conscience  void  of  offence  toward  God,  and  toward  men." 
— Acts  xxiv.  i6. 

"Holding  ...  a  good  conscience." — i  Tim.  i.  19. 

"  The  light  of  the  body  is  the  eye  ;  if  therefore  thine 
eye  be  single,  thy  whole  body  shall  be  full  of  light.  But 
if  thine  eye  be  evil,  thy  whole  body  shall  be  full  of  dark- 
ness. If  therefore  the  light  that  is  in  thee  be  darkness, 
how  great  is  that  darkness !  " — Matt.  vi«  22,  23. 

"  Yea,  and  why  even  of  yourselves  judge  ye  not  what  is 
right?" — Luke  xii.  57. 

In  an  arresting  picture,  entitled  "The 
Dweller  in  the  Innermost,"  George 
Frederick  Watts  represents  conscience  as 
an  ethereal  womanly  figure,  sitting  retired 
in  a  shrine  of  mystery,  listening — listening 
intently — and  rapt  in  thought.  On  her 
head  is  a  crown,  gemmed  in  front  with  a 
3 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

gleaming  star.  In  her  hand  she  holds  a 
trumpet  ready  ;  while  a  number  of  sharp- 
pointed  darts  are  laid  across  her  knees.  She 
is  waiting  to  hear  a  higher  voice,  prepared  to 
sound  forth  the  message  when  it  comes,  and 
to  hurl  the  darts  if  the  message  be  not  obeyed. 
That  picture  is  a  striking  symbolic  re- 
presentation of  the  function  which  conscience 
is  meant  to  fulfil  in  the  life  of  man.  Con- 
science is  the  witness  for  God  in  the  inner 
depths  of  our  nature.  It  is  the  organ  or 
faculty  through  which  the  Divine  Spirit 
speaks,  sometimes  with  a  note  that  is  loud, 
and  even  startling,  but  often  in  softer  tones, 
gentle,  appealing,  yet  marvellously  penetrat- 
ing and  not  to  be  heedlessly  ignored.  As 
Byron  says, — 

**  Yet  still  there  whispers  the  small  voice  within, 
Heard  through  Gain's  silence,  and  o'er  Glory's  din. 
Whatever  creed  be  taught,  or  land  be  trod, 
Man's  conscience  is  the  oracle  of  God." 

It  is  one  of  the  lessons  forced  on  us  as  we 
move  forward  in  life,  that  character  and  well- 
being  largely  depend  on  the  treatment  of 
conscience  ;  and  the  treatment  of  conscience 


The  Treatment  of  Conscience 

is  a  point  to  which  both  Jesus  and  Paul 
specially  refer.  For  conscience  is  given 
as  a  means  of  guidance  for  conduct ;  and 
although  it  exists  in  all,  it  may  be  so  dealt 
with  by  different  persons  as  to  be  far  more 
of  a  blessing  and  help  to  some  than  it  is  to 
others.  Experience  perpetually  teaches  that 
a  sound,  vigorous  condition  of  the  conscience 
is  absolutely  essential  to  real  worth  and 
happiness.  And  if  this  high  faculty  is  to 
serve  the  gracious  purpose  for  which  it  was 
designed,  it  becomes  imperative  on  us  to 
"  exercise  '*  ourselves,  like  the  Apostle,  in 
securing  for  it  its  due  place  and  power  in  our 
life. 

I.  It  must  be  Alert. 

The  first  point  to  be  aimed  at  is  to  keep 
the  conscience  alert.  There  is  such  a  thing 
as  a  torpid  conscience.  It  may  fall  into  a 
state  of  sluggish  dulness,  incapable  of  giving 
a  quick  or  clear  decision  on  a  question  of 
right  and  wrong.  This  may  be  brought 
about  by  a  continued  process  of  easy-going 
indifference,  or  by  fevered  engrossment  in 
5 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

superficial  vanities,  sordid  aims,  selfish  ex- 
pediences and  gratifications.  These  things 
may  so  act  upon  a  person's  conscience  that  it 
grows  benumbed  ;  he  loses  his  susceptibility 
to  the  voice  and  call  of  duty.  The  inner 
witness  is  reduced  to  a  condition  of  semi- 
torpor,  and  the  man  goes  blundering  on, 
tampering  with  the  eternal  laws  of  truth  and 
right,  not  realising  the  moral  and  spiritual 
harm  he  is  working  for  himself  and  for 
others.  Endless  is  the  mischief  caused  in 
the  world  by  a  dull  and  blunted  conscience. 

It  is  of  untold  moment,  therefore,  that  a 
steady  effort  be  made  to  fight  clear  of  every 
practice  or  form  of  self-indulgence  which 
may  have  a  deadening  eflFect,  and  to  keep 
carefully  within  the  range  of  sacred  in- 
fluences,— that  the  conscience  may  be  stirred 
to  sensitiveness,  and  set  on  the  alert.  To 
constrain  the  mind  to  dwell  in  the  pure 
atmosphere  of  Christ's  spirit  and  Christ's 
ideas  is  to  gain  a  quickened  conscience,  a 
keener  power  to  distinguish  the  high  and 
noble  in  thought  or  action  from  the  low  and 
the  mean.  And  thereby  a  person  acquires 
6 


The  Treatment  of  Conscience 

some  clear  assurance  that  the  way  he  is 
prompted  to  take  is  the  way  directed  by 
the  Lord. 


2.  It  must  be  Enlightened. 

A  second  point  is  to  get  the  conscience 
enlightened.  The  conscience  may  be  educated, 
just  as  any  of  the  bodily  organs  may  be. 
The  eye  may  be  educated  to  discern  greater 
niceties  of  colour  and  of  form  ;  the  ear  may 
be  educated  to  appreciate  subtler  harmonies 
or  discords  in  sounds ;  and  the  sense  of 
touch  may  be  educated  to  an  extraordinary 
degree  of  delicacy  and  correctness  of  feeling. 

And  so,  also,  this  organ  of  spiritual  sense. 
Conscience,  needs  educating  to  bring  it  to 
its  most  reliable  point  of  efficiency.  It  is 
well  known  how  the  standard  of  right  has 
differed  at  different  stages  of  the  world's 
history, — how,  in  fact,  it  has  gradually  risen 
as  the  centuries  rolled  by.  Good  men  in  the 
past  tolerated  certain  features  in  their  lives 
which  are  now  held  to  be  unworthy,  without 
feeling     them    to    be     unworthy, — as,    for 

7 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

example,  passionate  cruelty  to  enemies,  the 
fondness  for  revenge,  the  holding  of  slaves, 
or  sharing  in  the  gains  of  slavery,  the 
persecution  of  those  who  professed  unrecog- 
nised religious  opinions.  It  was  due  mainly 
to  the  want  of  enlightenment.  The  conscience 
was  not  sufficiently  educated  to  see  the  evil 
that  may  lie  in  forms  of  action  which  have 
been  long  sanctioned  by  habit  and  usage. 
And  in  the  same  way  still,  well-meaning 
people  may  do  things  that  are  really  wrong, 
without  being  aware  that  they  are  wrong ; 
or  they  may  neglect  obligations  of  duty 
without  perceiving  them  to  be  obligations. 
They  act  according  to  conscience,  so  far,  but 
their  conscience  needs  enlightenment, — needs 
to  be  brought  right  into  the  presence  of  a 
higher  ideal, — that  its  conceptions  of  truth 
and  goodness  may  be  enlarged,  made  more 
delicate  and  refined. 

This  is  what  happens  when  the  conscience 
is  drawn  under  the  influence  of  Jesus  Christ. 
In  His  presence  conscience  recognises  its 
sovereign  Lord  and  King.  There  begins  to 
dawn  then  a  new  delicacy  of  moral  and 
8 


The  Treatment  of  Conscience 

spiritual  perception.  The  moment  we  turn 
our  minds  seriously  to  the  life  and  words  of 
the  Master,  our  ideas  of  duty  become  clearer, 
sharper,  more  vivid,  and  we  discover  a  right 
and  a  wrong  in  things  which  before  had 
appeared  indifferent.  Now  and  again, 
indeed,  as  we  reflect  on  the  pure  elevation 
of  Jesus,  we  become  aware  of  some  fault  or 
other  in  our  disposition  or  ways  of  acting 
which  had  never  previously  struck  us^  and 
we  say  to  ourselves  with  a  start,  "  I  never 
thought  of  it  before  ;  1  never  saw  it  in  that 
light,  else  I  would  have  been  ashamed  of  it 
long  ago." 

Here  we  find  one  of  the  special  benefits 
to  be  derived  from  earnest  and  frequent 
attendance  on  Christian  teaching.  It  ill- 
umines the  conscience  by  bringing  it  close 
into  contact  with  the  highest  standard  of 
feeling  and  conduct.  It  stimulates  the  moral 
sense  by  setting  before  it  the  vision  of  a 
peerless  goodness.  And  nothing  is  better  fitted 
to  educate  the  conscience  and  make  it  a  sure 
guide  in  matters  of  right  and  duty,  than  to 
keep  the  Lord  Jesus  ever  in  view,  endeavour- 

9 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

ing  to  see  things  in  the  light  which  His  life 
and  truth  reveal.  In  all  questions  of  re- 
sponsibility, when  we  are  uncertain  or 
perplexed,  it  is  always  salutary  and  helpful  to 
place  ourselves  in  imagination  by  His  side, 
and  try  to  conceive  what,  in  our  circumstances, 
Jesus  would  be  likely  to  do.  That  would 
develop  our  power  of  moral  discernment. 
It  would  vivify  our  better  feelings.  It 
would  heighten  our  ideas  as  to  what  life  and 
character  should  be.  And  it  would  deliver 
us  from  the  blinding  errors  of  moral  judgment 
which  so  often  lead  us  astray  and  spoil  our 
peace. 

3.  It  must  be  True. 

A  third  point  to  be  aimed  at  is  to  preserve 
the  conscience  true.  We  sometimes  hear  of 
a  ship  being  wrecked  through  the  deflection 
of  the  compass.  It  was  a  good  ship,  with  a 
compass  in  sufficiently  good  order  and  quite 
well  fitted  to  serve  its  use  when  it  left  the 
maker's  hands.  But  there  was  some  part  of 
the  cargo  taken  on  board  of  that  ship  which 
acted  injuriously  on  the  movements  of  the 
10 


The  Treatment  of  Conscience 

compass — some  kind  of  metal,  perhaps,  which 
by  its  subtle  influence  drew  the  needle  aside, 
so  that  it  could  not  keep  its  point  steadily 
directed  towards  the  magnetic  pole — with 
the  result  that  the  ship  was  diverted  from  its 
course,  and  struck  on  hidden  rocks  that  were 
supposed  to  be  far  away.  Well,  conscience 
is  the  moral  compass  for  the  voyage  of  life, 
and  it  likewise  may  be  deflected,  warped. 
Many  launch  forth  on  the  great  world-ocean, 
like  a  fine  vessel,  finely  equipped  for  plough- 
ing a  sure  way  amid  winds  and  waves. 
They  are  full  of  promise  and  hope  ;  their 
conscience  is  in  a  fairly  good  condition, 
awake  and  alert,  enlightened  and  educated 
also  to  a  favourable  degree.  But  at  one 
port  of  call  or  another  in  the  great  life- 
voyage,  they  take  into  their  heart  some 
particular  taste,  some  inclination  or  ambition, 
which  contains  in  it  an  element  of  risk.  It 
may  be  an  anxious  greed  of  gain  to  which 
they  give  place  and  room,  or  an  eager  passion 
for  praise,  position,  or  showy  display,  or  a 
secret  craving  for  some  form  of  self-indulgent 
pleasure.  And  any  one  of  these  feelings 
II 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

may  put  the  conscience  in  danger  by  the 
subtle  influence  it  begins  to  exert. 

It  is  easy  for  people  to  persuade  them- 
selves that  all  is  well,  and  to  make-believe 
that  what  they  are  doing  is  right,  because  it 
happens  to  fall  in  with  the  self-gratifying 
inclinations  they  are  cherishing.  The  com- 
pass of  their  life,  their  moral  sense,  seems  to 
correspond  with  their  personal  likings  and 
wishes.  Yes  ;  but  what  if  that  compass  has 
been  deflected,  and  the  moral  sense  swayed 
aside  from  its  true  direction  by  those  very 
likings  and  wishes  ?  What  if  conscience  has 
been  twisted  to  suit  the  demands  of  selfish 
expediency  ?  Then,  unless  care  be  taken  in 
time,  life's  voyage  may  end  on  a  barren  shore 
of  dreary  disappointment,  if  not  in  spiritual 
wreck  and  disaster. 

It  is  of  the  highest  importance,  therefore, 
that  we  should,  from  time  to  time,  endeavour 
to  do  what  every  competent  ship-captain  is 
careful  to  do — test  our  compass.  The  captain 
brings  out  his  sextant,  and,  holding  it  up  to 
the  sun  at  mid-day,  takes  his  bearings,  and 
finds  out  whether  the  needle  is  pointing  true 

12 


The  Treatment  of  Conscience 

to  the  pole  ;  and  if  it  is  not,  he  re-arranges 
his  cargo  accordingly.  So  it  is  our  part  also, 
now  and  again,  to  bring  out  our  New  Testa- 
ment, or  what  we  know  of  its  teaching,  and, 
holding  that  up  in  the  light  of  serious 
thought,  take  our  bearings  likewise,  and  find 
out  whether  our  conscience  is  still  pointing 
true  to  Christ,  its  proper  direction  and  aim. 
That  is  one  of  the  uses  to  which  we  can  apply 
our  Sabbath  leisure,  and  our  occasional  hours 
of  private  meditation  and  devotion.  That  is 
testing  our  compass.  And  if  at  any  time 
we  discover  that  our  sense  of  duty  or  right 
is  being  warped  from  the  straight  line  of 
fidelity  to  Christ,  our  first  obligation  is  to 
put  those  inclinations  or  interests  which  are 
tending  to  warp  it  into  a  subordinate  place  in 
our  hearts,  thrusting  them  away  where  it 
will  be  less  possible  for  them  to  exert  their 
baleful  power. 

4.  It  must  be  Trusted. 

Another  point  is,  that  the  conscience  be 
trusted.     What  I  mean  is  this  :  in  so  far  as 

13 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

we  feel  our  conscience  to  be  awake,  en- 
lightened, and,  tested  in  the  light  of  Christ, 
to  be  true,  we  should  fling  ourselves  honestly 
on  its  guidance.  We  should  believe  in  our 
conscience  when  it  speaks  clearly  within  us. 
There  is  a  sort  of  instinct  which  tells  us  when 
it  is  speaking  clearly.  And  were  we  only  to 
accept  and  follow  its  dictates  when  that  in- 
stinct assures  us  of  their  truth,  we  should 
be  armed  with  an  amazing  confidence  and 
strength.  That  person  who  trusts  his  con- 
science, and  throws  his  will  out  to  act  on  its 
promptings,  is  lifted  to  a  height  of  feeling 
which  is  one  of  the  most  precious  experiences 
in  life.  Nothing  yields  a  purer,  richer  satis- 
faction. To  have  a  conscience  kept  en- 
lightened by  the  life  and  teaching  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  and  to  trust  its  leading  loyally, 
with  that  same  Lord  ever  in  view — that  may 
cost  many  a  struggle  with  earthly  inclination 
and  selfish  desire  ;  yet  it  is  an  infallible 
secret  of  that  inward  peace  for  which  all  so 
passionately  yearn.  It  renders  the  haunting 
horrors  of  guilty  memories  impossible.  It 
lays  the  spectres  of  terror  and  fear.     It  stirs 

14 


The  Treatment  of  Conscience 

the  upholding  sense  of  being  in  the  sure 
path  to  all  that  is  best  and  most  worth 
possessing  at  last. 

If,  then,  we  have  any  genuine  reverence 
for  the  redeeming  Christ,  and  would  gain 
the  real  good  of  life,  we  are  bound  to  com- 
mit our  way  to  the  bidding  of  that  mysterious 
"  Dweller  in  the  Innermost,"  the  witness  for 
the  Divine  within  our  breast,  and  "  exercise  " 
ourselves  "  always  to  have  a  conscience  void 
of  offence  toward  God  and  toward  men." 
That  will  open  the  soul  to  the  sunshine  of 
heaven,  and  to  the  brightening  sweetness  of 
the  Father's  smile.  And  as  for  the  future 
— "a  good  conscience"  before  God  can 
meet  that  with  unshrinking  trust. 


IS 


II. 

THE  SANCTIFICATION  OF  REASON. 


17 


II. 


THE  SANCTIFICATION  OF 
REASON. 

**  They  came  to  Thessalonica,  where  was  a  synagogue 
of  the  Jews  ;  and  Paul,  as  his  manner  was,  went  in  unto 
them,  and  three  Sabbath  days  reasoned  with  them  out  of 
the  Scriptures." — Acts  xvii.  i,  2. 

It  is  an  impressive  spectacle — and  it  becomes 
more  impressive  as  we  take  time  to  consider 
it — to  see  one  man  facing  a  group  or  an 
assembly  of  his  fellow-men,  and  endeavouring 
to  change  their  convictions,  and  thereby 
shape  their  conduct.  For  what  is  it  that 
we  witness  going  on  there  ?  It  is  the  subtle, 
mystic  action  of  mind  upon  mind  in  virtue 
of  a  marvellous  gift  possessed  in  common 
by  speaker  and  hearers — the  God-like  gift 
of  reason.  When  Paul  stood  up  in  the 
synagogue  at  Thessalonica  or  elsewhere, 
and  sought  to  win  acceptance  for  the  beliefs 

19 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

he  held,  he  was  bringing  his  own  reason  to 
bear  on  the  reason  of  those  listening  to  him. 
He  took  for  granted  that  the  same  gift  of 
reason  which  belonged  to  himself  was  also 
in  the  possession  of  every  one  before  him, 
and  therefore  he  appealed  to  it,  and  worked 
upon  it,  in  the  hope  that  he  might  lead  his 
audience  round  to  his  point  of  view,  and 
persuade  them  to  see  the  matters  he  spoke 
of  as  he  saw  them. 

This  gift  of  reason  is  an  essential  part  of 
our  human  nature,  and  its  exercise  is  called 
for,  more  or  less,  in  every  detail  of  our 
daily  transactions.  If  our  work  is  to  be  of 
any  avail,  or  our  efforts  to  come  to  any  good, 
we  must  think  and  put  things  together  ;  we 
must  know  what  we  are  doing  or  intend  to 
do  ;  we  must  consider  how  we  are  to  lay  out 
our  time  and  deal  with  the  affairs  that  de- 
mand our  attention.  There  is  not  a  day  we 
can  pass,  nor  a  step  we  can  take,  without 
having  our  reason  thus  summoned  into 
action  ;  and  apart  from  the  exercise  of  reason 
life  would  be  a  tangle  of  confusion, — a  blind, 
aimless,  baffling  business. 
20 


The  Sanctiiication  of  Reason 

It  is  of  supreme  moment,  therefore,  that 
a  faculty  which  enters  so  incessantly  into  all 
our  doings  should  be  brought,  and  kept, 
under  the  control  of  the  highest  motives. 
And  to  secure  this  result  is  one  of  the  dis- 
tinctive aims  of  the  Christian  Gospel.  There 
have  been  periods  in  history  when  the  notion 
was  entertained  that  religion  represses  reason, 
and  that  reason  is  antagonistic  to  religion. 
That  notion  has  now  been  exploded.  It  has 
been  proved  that  religion,  if  it  is  to  have  any 
profound  and  lasting  effect,  must  address 
itself  to  the  reason  as  well  as  to  the  other 
capacities  of  the  mind  of  man.  It  has  been 
proved  that  religion,  the  religion  of  Jesus 
Christ,  welcomes  the  exercise  of  reason,  that 
it  quickens  and  develops  the  reason  by  the 
very  grandeur  of  the  truths  it  reveals,  and, 
moreover,  that  it  gives  the  reason  a  loftier 
direction  by  the  high  and  earnest  spirit  it 
enkindles.  Plain  men  and  women  have  had 
their  intelligence  strengthened  in  grasp  and 
widened  in  range  by  the  influence  which  Christ 
and  His  Gospel  have  exerted  upon  them. 

That  is  the  sanctification  of  reason  ;  and 

21 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

It  is  urgently  required.  For  reason  is  in 
danger  of  being  perverted  to  unworthy  uses 
by  the  clamorous  greeds  and  selfish  passions 
that  are  for  ever  pressing  their  claims.  And 
if  this  sublime  faculty  is  to  be  turned  to 
its  best  account,  it  can  only  be  when  it 
is  governed  by  the  sacred  promptings  and 
aspirations  of  a  sincere  religious  faith.  Then 
only  can  it  be  safely  trusted  as  a  guide  in  the 
great  concerns  of  life. 

I.  The  Interpretation  of  Facts. 

Keeping  this  in  view,  consider,  in  the 
first  place,  the  part  which  reason  plays  in  the 
Interpretation  of  Facts,  It  is  the  function  of 
reason  to  pierce  below  the  surface  and  find 
out  the  explanations  of  things.  Through 
reason,  searching  and  inquiring,  the  sciences 
have  been  carried  to  the  stage  of  advance 
they  have  reached.  It  is  through  the  exercise 
of  reason  that  men  have  discovered  how  the 
rocks  were  built  up,  and  hills  and  valleys 
formed, — how  the  varied  species  of  plants 
and  animals  have  grown  and  spread,  how  the 

22 


The  Sanctification  of  Reason 

stars  are  wheeled  in  their  orbits,  and  the 
mysterious  comets  guided  in  their  vast  and 
far-travelled  course.  The  whole  world  of 
Nature  has  been  robed  in  richer  glory  for  us, 
because  reason  has  so  far  interpreted  its 
visible  facts  and  traced  the  laws  and  forces 
that  work  behind  them.  And  that  great 
achievement  is  not  unfavourable  to  religion, 
as  many  for  a  while  feared.  It  has  furnished 
larger  scope  for  the  wonder  and  adoration  of 
the  reverent  soul,  and  given  men  new  con- 
ceptions of  the  might  and  majesty  of  the 
Creator. 

Then  there  is  the  stirring  world  of  Human 
Life,  in  which  we  are  all  mixed  up.  Every- 
thing that  happens  there*  also  has  a  meaning 
deeper  than  appears  on  the  surface.  And 
one  of  the  foremost  essentials  to  our  good  is 
the  ability  to  interpret  the  facts  of  our  own 
experience,  and  see  the  meaning  that  lies 
beneath.  Some  of  those  facts  baffle  us. 
There  are  crosses  and  trials  which  are  beyond 
our  power,  for  the  time  at  least,  to  explain. 
Their  design  or  purpose  is  veiled  in  mystery. 
Yet,  if  we  can  wait  and  trust,  some  day 
23 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

perhaps,  when  devoutly  pondering  over  what 
we  have  come  through,  our  reason  may  be 
surprised  by  a  flash  of  illumination,  and  we 
shall  see.  Many  of  the  uses  and  meanings 
of  the  divine  dealings  are  only  discernible  in 
the  clearer  after-light  of  retrospect,  not  in  the 
dark,  agitating  season  of  actual  experience. 
As  in  the  case  of  Moses  at  Sinai,  anxious  to 
understand  the  drift  of  the  divine  designs 
(Exodus  xxxiii.  21-23),  so  with  us  also; — 
often  it  is  only  from  behind,  and  after  God 
in  His  sterner  dealings  has  passed  by,  that 
we  discover  the  explanation  of  His  ways 
which  we  pine  so  wistfully  to  know.  And 
although  the  explanation  is  not  reached  till 
the  severe  ordeal  has  passed,  still  it  is  to 
reason  that  the  explanation  is  revealed, — to 
reason  devoutly  searching  and  inquiring  into 
the  hidden  purpose  of  the  Lord  ;  and  when 
it  is  revealed,  it  becomes  a  source  of  strength 
and  encouragement  for  other  ordeals  that 
may  yet  have  to  be  undergone. 

Moreover,    there    are    the    facts    of   our 
material   position,    the    circumstances    amid 
which  we  have  to  move  and  act.     Unless  we 
24 


The  Sanctification  of  Reason 

can  in  some  measure  understand  these,  and 
discern  the  line  of  duty  to  which  they  point, 
we  are  sadly  crippled.  In  this  matter  all 
depends  on  the  spirit  and  motives  by  which 
our  reason  is  swayed.  It  is  a  familiar  saying 
that  the  eye  sees  only  what  it  brings  with  it 
the  power  of  seeing.  And  so  it  is  with  the 
mind  likewise.  "  The  wish  is  father  to  the 
thought ''  ;  and  as  a  rule  the  mind  finds  in 
the  circumstances  it  has  to  deal  with  just 
what  it  is  prepared  by  its  own  disposition  to 
find.  Thus,  many  a  time,  the  difficulties 
which  to  one  person  are  a  depressing  hind- 
rance and  a  ground  of  complaint,  are  to 
another  a  stimulus  to  more  courageous  effort, 
or  to  greater  patience  and  firmness  of  resolve. 
In  such  a  case  there  is  a  difference  in  the 
way  of  reading  the  meaning  of  facts.  And 
that  is  due  to  a  difference  in  the  spirit  by 
which  the  reason  is  impelled.  If  the  reason 
is  actuated  by  self-caring,  self-saving  desires, 
it  will  interpret  everything  by  the  standard 
of  selfish  ease,  and  the  life  consequently  will 
be  a  poor,  shifty  affair.  But  if,  behind 
reason,  there  be  a  nobler  impulse  at  work,  a 
25 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

sense  of  responsibility  to  God  and  truth, 
then  the  interpretation  arrived  at  will  be  like 
a  bracing  trumpet-call  to  the  soul,  and  the 
harder  tasks,  which  make  others  shrink,  will 
shine  with  the  glow  of  divinely-given  oppor- 
tunities. And  that  is  a  secret  of  richest 
blessing. 


2.  The  Judgment  of  Values. 

A  second  function  of  reason  consists  in  the 
Judgment  of  Values,  Amid  the  multitude  of 
objects  that  surround  us  here  on  earth  it  is 
absolutely  necessary  to  make  some  choice  as 
to  those  which  are  best  entitled  to  claim 
our  interest  and  engage  our  energies.  To 
plunge  into  life  haphazard,  and  grasp  blindly 
the  glittering  attractions  that  thrust  them- 
selves upon  us,  would  be  to  court  disaster. 
But  we  are  dowered  with  the  gift  of  reason 
that  we  may  compare  things,  and  form  an 
estimate  of  their  worth  and  of  their  bearing 
on  our  happiness,  and  act  accordingly.  To 
bring  reason  thus  into  exercise  is  an  im- 
perative obligation  if  our  true  well-being  is 
26 


The  Sanctification  of  Reason 

to  be  consulted.  For  "all  that  glitters  is 
not  gold  "  ;  and  many  things  wear  a  shining 
glamour  which  is  hollow  and  delusive.  We 
need  to  judge  wisely,  therefore,  if  we  are  not 
to  be  ensnared  to  our  injury.  Our  reason 
must  be  brought  to  bear  on  gauging  and 
estimating  the  objects  that  compete  for  our 
regard.  But  it  must  be  reason  purified  in 
its  aim  by  reverence  for  the  truth  and  mind 
of  Christ, — reason  looking  to  Christ  for  its 
standard  of  valuation,  trying  to  see  things 
with  His  eyes,  and  in  the  light  He  sheds. 
Only  thus  is  it  possible  to  distinguish  between 
what  is  really  important  to  our  highest 
interests,  and  what  is  of  slighter  account, 
between  what  is  worthy  of  the  heart's  devotion 
and  what  is  transient  and  vain. 

And  nothing  has  a  more  direct  influence 
on  our  life's  true  good  than  the  decisions  we 
thus  form.  All  that  is  most  vital  to  us 
hangs  on  the  choice  we  make  as  to  the  things 
on  which  the  ardour  of  our  ambition  is  to  be 
set.  A  mistake  here  means  ultimate  blight 
to  our  hopes  of  genuine  satisfaction.  If  the 
reason  is  not  sanctified  by  the  power  of 
27 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

earnest  motives,  the  glare  of  the  alluring  and 
the  showy  will  be  apt  to  dazzle,  and  lead  it 
astray.  Then,  too,  there  will  be  the  risk  of 
accepting  conventional  valuations,  and  timidly 
following  the  superficial  judgments  of  fashion 
or  the  prevailing  popular  taste.  That  is 
slavery,  and  it  may  mean  beggary  of  soul 
and  happiness  ere  all  is  done. 

There  is  no  safeguard  amid  the  manifold 
allurements  of  life,  but  a  reason  governed  by 
a  devout  reverence  for  Christ's  standard  of 
worth.  Then  that  God-given  faculty  be- 
comes an  incalculable  help.  It  enables  us 
to  distinguish  the  solid  substance  from  the 
empty  sham,  the  real  good  from  the  counter- 
feit, the  reward  which  is  worth  any  sacrifice 
to  gain  from  the  reward  that  curses  as  soon 
as  it  is  grasped. 

3.  The  Adaptation  of  Means  to  Ends. 

A  third  function  of  reason  is  the  Adapta- 
tion of  Means  to  Ends.  Of  what  reason  has 
accomplished  in  this  direction  we  have 
numberless  illustrations  on  every  hand.  The 
machinery  that  drives  our  factories  and 
28 


The    Sanctification  of  Reason 

keeps  our  industries  going,  the  means  of 
locomotion  on  land  and  sea,  the  appliances 
for  rapid  communication  across  the  earth  and 
through  the  air,  our  political  organisations 
and  public  institutions — are  all  the  inventions 
of  reason,  planning  and  devising  to  attain 
certain  results  in  the  sphere  of  material  and 
social  affairs. 

But  there  is  scope  and  need  for  applying 
the  same  power  of  planning  and  devising  in 
the  management  of  individual  life.  Many  a 
person  stumbles  sadly  and  misses  much  that 
is  dear  to  his  heart  and  hopes,  because  there 
is  some  defect  in  his  manner  of  employ- 
ing his  reason  to  secure  the  end  he  desires. 
You  may  set  your  heart  on  a  true  and  worthy 
object,  but  in  order  to  reach  it  you  must 
contrive  and  use  the  appropriate  means. 
Your  line  of  conduct  must  be  adapted  to 
the  result  at  which  you  aim.  If  you  want 
the  glow  of  high  thought  as  a  source  of 
satisfying  happiness,  you  must  nourish  your 
mind  by  communing  with  the  great  thinkers 
who  have  poured  out  their  inspiring  thoughts 
in  their  books.  If  you  want  to  attain  the 
29 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

deep  peace  of  a  clean  conscience,  you  must 
take  such  measures  as  you  can  to  avoid 
occasions  of  temptation,  and  to  protect  your- 
self against  what  you  know  to  be  your 
besetting  weakness.  If  it  is  worth  of  soul 
to  which  you  aspire,  and  you  wish  to  possess 
an  inward  wealth  which  shall  be  a  treasure 
to  you,  whatever  your  outward  fortunes,  you 
must  bend  your  reason  to  find  out  and 
follow  the  ways  of  living  and  acting  which 
Christ  guides  you  to  employ.  You  must 
endeavour  to  discover  what  principles  of 
behaviour,  what  practices  of  devotion  and 
of  fellowship  with  the  unseen,  are  best  fitted 
to  cultivate  the  dispositions  and  feelings  that 
make  the  spirit  rich  within.  And  if  you  are 
alive  to  the  eternal  issues  of  life  and  long  to 
have  your  destiny  beyond  the  grave  secured, 
you  must  deliberately  order  your  course  of 
conduct  on  a  plan  that  is  calculated  to  lead 
to  a  result  so  grand. 

It  is  all  a  question  of  adaptation,  the  devis- 
ing  and   employment  of    means    suited   to 
accomplish  a  definite  end.     And  just  here  it 
is,  in  those  matters  of  transcendent  moment, 
30 


The  Sanctification  of  Reason 

that  failures  often  occur.  It  is  lamentable  to 
see  the  slipshod  fashion  of  managing  their 
religious  life  which  some  people  display. 
They  have  high  enough  aims  and  a  certain 
degree  of  spiritual  desire,  but  they  have  no 
method  or  order,  no  intelligent  arrangement 
of  their  habits  and  their  time,  with  a  view  to 
promoting  the  objects  they  profess.  They 
take  their  seasons  of  worship  and  their  re- 
ligious devotions  by  fits  and  starts.  They 
trifle  with  ensnaring  distractions,  though 
secretly  aware  that  these  spoil  their  relish  for 
sacred  things.  They  leave  the  feeding  of 
their  souls  and  the  quickening  of  their 
spiritual  feelings  very  much  to  chance. 

In  all  this  there  is  a  failure  to  apply  the 
reason  seriously  to  the  most  solemn  concerns 
with  which  men  and  women  have  to  do. 
For  reason,  if  consulted  in  the  light  of  Christ, 
would  show  that  such  blessings  as  peace  of 
conscience,  elevation  of  soul,  inward  wealth 
and  preparation  for  immortality,  cannot  be 
gained  by  the  careless,  random  ways  of  acting 
with  which  those  persons  are  inclined  to  be 
content     Common    sense   would  tell   them 

31 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

that  the  means  they  take  are  not  at  all 
adapted  to  the  end  required.  And  indeed  a 
sanctified  common  sense  is  one  of  the  best 
helps  that  can  be  possessed  in  the  right 
ordering  of  life.  It  is  simply  reason  imbued 
with  a  sacred  purpose  and  a  spirit  of 
reverence  for  Christ  and  Christlike  things. 
And  when  reason  is  thus  graciously 
influenced  it  becomes  a  faculty  of  spiritual 
insight,  and  is  beyond  price  in  the  working 
out  of  our  highest  weal.  It  gives  sagacity 
and  prudence  in  the  regulation  of  conduct, 
and  prevents  thoughtless  tamperings  with 
moral  risks.  It  gives  tact  and  discretion  in 
the  wise  performance  of  duty,  and  saves  the 
good  a  person  has  from  being  evil  spoken 
of.  It  keeps  the  soul  in  trim  for  embracing 
opportunities  of  progress  and  usefulness.  It 
steadies  the  bent  of  the  life  on  one  lofty  aim, 
and  thereby  makes  it  possible  to  go  from 
strength  to  strength,  growing  in  grace,  and 
doing  ever  better  service  for  the  Lord.  And 
thus  the  Godlike  gift  implanted  in  us  be- 
comes more  Godlike  still,  when  hallowed  by  a 
Godlike  purpose  and  devoted  to  Godlike  ends. 
32 


III. 

THE    RESPONSIBILITIES    OF 
MEMORY. 


33 


III. 

THE  RESPONSIBILITIES 
OF    MEMORY. 

**  Thou  shalt  remember  all  the  way  which  the  Lord 
thy  God  hath  led  thee." — Deut.  viii.  2. 

The  power  to  remember  is  quite  as  familiar  to 
us  as  the  power  to  touch  or  the  power  to  see. 
Indeed,  so  familiar  is  it  that  we  are  apt  to  take 
it  as  a  matter  of  course  and  scarcely  realise  how 
immensely  indebted  to  it  we  are  in  all  we  do. 
Memory  is  one  of  the  most  astonishing  of 
our  manifold  endowments.  It  is  that  capacity 
which  the  mind  possesses  to  treasure  up 
what  it  has  gone  through,  what  it  has  felt  and 
seen,  and  to  keep  it  in  reserve  for  future  use. 
It  is  the  capacity  for  retaining  the  informa- 
tion we  acquire,  the  impressions  we  receive, 
and  without  it  we  could  never  grow  in  know- 
ledge, nor  derive   any  advantage   from    the 

35 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

sights  and  events  we  have  witnessed.  In 
short,  were  it  not  for  memory,  seizing  hold 
of  each  hour's  and  each  year's  occurrences, 
and  storing  them  away  within,  to  be  called 
forth  again  (more  or  less  clearly)  from  time 
to  time,  we  should  continue  in  a  state  of 
intellectual  babyhood  to  the  end  of  our  days. 

Memory,  then,  preserves  the  past  for  us. 
It  enables  us  to  bind  the  past  to  the  present, 
and  thus  to  bring  the  light  of  the  past  to 
bear  on  the  present  and  on  the  management 
of  its  affairs. 

The  possession  of  such  a  power  involves 
necessarily  a  tremendous  responsibility.  In 
some  cases  the  memory  is  specially  sus- 
ceptible. It  registers  events  and  impressions 
with  great  celerity  and  ease.  In  other  cases, 
though  the  memory  may  not  be  so  quickly 
receptive,  its  retentiveness  of  what  it  does 
receive  may  be  extraordinary.  In  fact,  many 
of  those  who  have  studied  the  science  of  the 
mind  assure  us  that  nothing  which  has  once 
been  taken  into  the  memory  can  ever  be 
altogether  effaced,  but  is  kept  locked  up  in 
secret  cells,  and  certain  to  emerge  and  spring 

36 


The  Responsibilities  of  Memory 

into  consciousness  some  time  or  other. 
Marvellous  indeed,  and  often  startling,  are 
the  revivals  of  long-past  things  which  were 
deemed  to  be  left  for  ever  behind,  dead  and 
buried.  A  chance  word,  the  sight  of  a  face, 
a  waft  of  music,  the  scent  of  a  flower,  may- 
set  in  motion  a  train  of  associations,  and 
suddenly,  spontaneously,  the  long-buried 
thing  of  the  past  wakes  up  and  leaps  into 
life  again,  fresh  and  vivid. 

Memory,  however,  does  not  always 
yield  up  its  stores  with  such  spontaneous 
readiness.  There  are  times  when  it  is  only 
by  an  effort  of  will  that  the  past  can  be 
recalled  and  made  to  live  again.  And  it  is 
to  the  putting  forth  of  this  effort  that  the 
text  chosen  from  the  old  Hebrew  Scripture 
urges.  Yes  ;  but  what  part  of  our  past  is 
it  which  it  is  most  important  to  recall  and 
to  cherish  in  remembrance  ?  That  is  the 
decisive  point.  That  determines  the  value 
of  memory  to  us,  for  the  present  and  for  the 
future.  It  is  for  what  we  deliberately  /ry 
to  recall  and  are  most  anxious  to  cherish  in 
remembrance  that  we  are  responsible. 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

I.  The  Deepening  of  Reverence  and 
Gratitude. 

That    being   the    case,    then,    it    follows, 

first  of  all,  that  those  recollections  should  be 

cherished  that  tend   to  deepen   reverence   ana 

gratitude.     This  was  the  drift  of  the  teacher 

of    ancient    Israel    when    he    said,    "Thou 

shalt  remember  all  the  way  which  the  Lord 

thy  God  hath  led    thee."     He    desired  the 

people  to  summon  up  the  remembrance  of 

what  Jehovah  had  done  for  them,  that  they 

might   be    impressed    with  a  sense    of  His 

greatness   and  feel    the    magnitude  of  their 

obligations  to  Him.     And  there  are  passages 

in  the  lives  of  all  of  us  which,  if  recalled  and 

dwelt  upon,  are  fitted  to  produce  a   similar 

effect  upon  our  mind.     We  have  seen  much 

of  the  divine  dealings  in  the  past  that  should 

strike  us  with  wonder  and  awe  in  presence 

of  the  infinite  majesty  and  power  that  gird 

us    round    on    every    hand.     But    we    must 

rouse  ourselves    to  consider    what  we   have 

seen,  to  bring  it  back  to  thought  again  and 

again,  in    order    that   the    wonder  and   awe 

38 


The  Responsibilities  of  Memory 

may  be  stirred,  and  kept  stirring,  within  us. 
That  is  how  our  reverence  for  the  highest 
can  alone  be  maintained,  and  it  is  our  duty 
thus,  by  the  exercise  of  memory,  to  en- 
deavour to  maintain  it. 

It  is  also  the  way  to  foster  the  spirit  of 
gratitude.  In  a  French  school  for  deaf  and 
dumb  boys,  taught  by  the  Abb6  Sicard  many 
years  ago,  one  of  the  pupils  was  asked  to 
state  what  he  understood  by  the  word 
"  gratitude "  ;  and  immediately  he  wrote 
down,  "Gratitude  is  the  memory  of  the 
heart."  A  better  answer  could  scarcely  be 
given.  For  it  is  the  willingness  to  remember 
the  good  received  in  days  gone  by,  the  help 
that  came  under  dreary  burdens,  the  glimpses 
of  divine  mercy  that  beamed  out  when  the 
path  was  clouded, — it  is  the  willingness  to 
remember  these  things  and  ponder  them 
seriously  that  warms  and  intensifies  the 
grateful  feeling.  The  past  may  have  had  its 
ruggedness  and  trial,  its  struggle  and  its 
gloom  ;  and  some  may  be  disposed  to  brood 
darkly  over  such  aspects  of  its  sternness. 
But  the  past  had  its  bounties  and  benefits, 
39 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

and  its  seasons  of  brightness  too,  and  these 
should  never  be  dropped  out  of  sight  as  if 
they  had  not  been.  To  forget  the  streaks  of 
sunshine  that  so  often  softened  the  shadows, 
would  be  sheer  unfaithfulness.  And  we 
are  neither  fair  to  God  nor  fair  to  ourselves 
if  the  sunnier  side  of  our  life  is  not  held  in 
remembrance. 


2.  The  Teaching  of  Practical  Wisdom. 

In  the  second  place,  those  recollections 
should  be  cherished  that  teach  lessons  of 
'practical  wisdom.  It  is  through  the  aid  of 
memory  that  many  of  the  best  elements  of 
our  education  are  acquired.  In  passing  from 
one  phase  of  our  existence  to  another  we 
meet  with  a  variety  of  persons  and  circum- 
stances, and  we  are  moved  by  a  variety  of 
thoughts  and  feelings  ;  and  as  memory 
gathers  these  together  in  its  stores  we  can 
learn  much  for  the  right  guidance  of  our 
conduct.  We  can  draw  hints  and  rules  of 
action  from  what  memory  has  preserved  in 
its  records — from  the  good  deeds  we  have 
40 


The  Responsibilities  of  Memory 

ever  done,  the  noble  examples  we  have  heard 
of,  or  the  mistakes  we  have  made,  the 
difficulties  we  have  encountered,  and  even 
the  failures  into  which  we  have  stumbled. 

Thus  it  is  that  we  gain  benefit  from  the 
school  of  experience.  If  we  consider  the 
facts  which  memory  can  set  in  array  before 
us,  we  get  an  insight  into  many  questions 
which  directly  affect  our  happiness, — such 
questions,  for  instance,  as,  what  are  the  real 
sources  of  satisfaction,  and  the  objects  most 
worth  striving  for  ?  What  are  the  dangers 
to  be  shunned,  and  the  principles  of  con- 
duct best  calculated  to  secure  the  welfare  of 
the  soul  and  the  peace  of  the  conscience  ? 
With  regard  to  these  questions  every  person's 
experience  affords  the  means  of  gathering 
some  definite  instruction  which  memory  can 
retain  for  use  in  the  grave  business  of  life. 

And  the  point  to  be  laid  to  heart  is  this, 
— that  if  the  wise  lessons  of  experience  are 
ignored  and  the  memory  of  them  be  muffled 
and  stifled,  there  is  a  deplorable  failure  in 
responsibility.  That  person  violates  one  of 
the   most   solemn    of    all    obligations   who 

41 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the   Soul 

pushes  from  him,  or  refuses  to  consider, 
what  memory  teaches.  He  does  wrong  to 
his  own  nature  ;  he  spoils  the  best  possi- 
bilities of  his  life,  he  defeats  the  purpose  of 
God  in  conferring  such  an  endowment  as 
memory  upon  him.  For  memory  is  designed 
to  provide  every  man  with  lights  of  wisdom 
from  the  experiences  he  has  undergone,  so 
that  at  each  new  stage  of  his  course  he  may 
see  more  clearly  where  the  true  good  lies, 
and  be  enabled  thereby  to  act  and  strive 
with  more  certainty  of  attaining  it. 


3.  The  Fostering  of  Higher  Ideals. 

Again,  those  recollections  should  be  cher- 
ished which  furnish  ideals  of  loftier  endeavour. 
Probably  we  have  all  had  our  times  of  gener- 
ous enthusiasm,  when  we  thought  of  the 
high  line  of  action  we  should  like  to  take, 
and  we  resolved,  if  spared,  by  and  by  to  take 
it.  At  such  times  we  caught  a  glimpse  of 
the  true  direction  in  which  our  aspiration 
should  be  bent,  the  excellence  of  life  and 
character  we  should  aim  to  reach.  Our 
42 


The  Responsibilities  of  Memory 

hearts  were  warmed  and  uplifted,  and  we 
vowed  to  ourselves  to  play  the  worthy  part 
which  our  generous  moods  suggested. 

Do  we  try  now  to  preserve  our  grasp  on 
those  higher  resolutions  ?  Do  we  find  a 
freshening  interest  in  calling  them  up  and 
thinking  over  the  circumstances  that  gave 
them  birth,  that  we  may  be  incited  to  greater 
devotedness  in  our  present  efforts  ?  That 
is  one  of  the  functions  for  which  the  gift  of 
memory  was  bestowed.  It  was  meant  as  an 
aid  in  keeping  hold  of  our  best  ideals,  and  in 
carrying  them  forward  with  us  from  day  to 
day  and  year  to  year,  that  so  their  beauty 
might  continue  to  inspire  us,  and  that  we 
might  be  impelled  to  work  them  out  and 
translate  them  into  reality. 

Pitiful  is  the  case  of  those  who  once  had 
bright  and  noble  ideals,  and  sincere  resolu- 
tions to  follow  them,  but  have  allowed  those 
ideals  to  drop  into  oblivion,  and  are  quite 
content  to  leave  them  unremembered.  Such 
persons  may  prosper  fairly  well  in  many 
surface  ways,  yet  they  have  lost  the  high 
stimulating  purpose  that  would  have  led 
43 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the   Soul 

their  life  on  to  sterling  worth  and  usefulness. 
And  they  have  burdened  themselves  with 
a  stupendous  responsibility.  For,  to  have 
once  seen  and  felt  a  particular  line  of  action 
to  be  right  and  high,  and  demanded  by  the 
conscience,  is  to  be  bound  henceforth  to 
strain  as  far  as  possible  to  follow  it.  And  if 
it  is  not  followed,  if  the  very  remembrance 
of  the  impulse  to  follow  it  is  smothered,  then 
the  life  must  fall  miserably  short  of  that 
which  God  meant  it  to  be. 

Blessed  are  those  who  are  anxious  to 
retain  their  grip  on  the  highest  thoughts  and 
the  highest  conceptions  of  good  which  have 
once  flashed  upon  their  vision, — who  hold 
fast  the  most  sacred  resolutions  of  the  past,  to 
exalt  their  aims  and  shape  their  endeavours  for 
the  present.  Such  persons  press  memory  into 
the  service  of  their  spiritual  sanctification. 

4.  The  Strengthening   of   Courage  and 
Faith. 

Once  more  those  recollections  should  be 
cherished  which  help    to  nurse  moral  courage 

44 


The  Responsibilities  of  Memory 

and  faith,     Tennyson  In   "  Locksley  Hall," 
echoing  the  idea  of  an  older  poet,  declared — 

**That   a   sorrow's  crown  of  sorrow  is  remembering 
happier  things," 

But  Tennyson  was  in  his  youth  when  he 
penned  that  statement.  In  after  years,  when 
he  had  seen  and  learned  more  of  life,  he  dis- 
covered— as  is  shown  in  "  In  Memoriam  " — 
that  sorrow  can  be  relieved,  and  relieved  amaz- 
ingly, by  the  remembrance  of  happier  things. 
Bruised  hearts  without  number  have  found 
solace  and  strength  unspeakable  in  casting  the 
thoughts  away  back  to  sunny  spots  in  the 
past  on  which  it  is  soothing  to  dwell.  The 
Land  of  Memory  may  be  shadowed  here  and 
there  by  heavy  regrets  ;  but  it  has  its  pleas- 
ant places  also,  not  a  few,  lit  up  by  the 
radiance  of  kindly  providences  and  countless 
mercies,  that  gladdened  and  blessed  ;  and  to 
let  the  mind  wander  amongst  these  is  to 
enjoy  a  refuge  from  pressing  vexations  and 
griefs.  Often,  indeed,  in  hours  of  despond- 
ency and  wasting  care,  men  and  women 
obtain  a  wondrous  comfort  in  taking  a  stroll 

45 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

in  thought  through  the  country  of  "  Auld 
Lang  Syne.**  It  gives  them  a  respite  from 
their  troubled  feelings  to  be  thus  transported 
to  the  happy  scenes  and  genial  delights  of 
brighter  days  they  once  knew. 

And  it  does  more  ;  it  braces  the  soul  to 
confidence  too.  For  the  restrospect  of  past 
blessings  supplies  ground  for  the  assurance 
that  the  same  goodness  which  bestowed  those 
blessings,  rules  and  reigns  still,  and  that  the 
coming  days  may  be  bright  with  mercies  as 
former  days  have  been.  And  that  assurance 
is  confirmed  when  the  love  of  the  cross  is 
brought  into  view,  and  when  the  pathway  of 
life  is  looked  at  in  the  glow  of  hope  it  sheds. 
Then  courage  revives — courage,  and  a  firmer 
faith.  In  the  light  of  the  cross  and  its 
burning  love,  it  becomes  refreshingly  clear 
that  the  gifts  of  divine  goodness  are  never 
exhausted,  and  that  the  heart  of  the  Father, 
which  the  cross  reveals,  has  more  kindness 
yet  to  show  as  the  years  roll  by. 

It  is  vital  to  our  happiness  and  to  all  that 
is  most  precious  for  us  in  life  that  we 
cherish  the  remembrances  of  the  past  which 

46 


The  Responsibilities  of  Memory 

strengthen  faith.  Thus  the  spirit  can  front 
whatever  is  yet  to  come,  nerved  with  the 
confidence  that  goodness  and  mercy  are 
waiting  for  us  along  the  path,  ready  to  meet 
us  again  as  we  step  forward. 

Think  often,  and  think  much,  of  the 
gleams  of  joy  with  which  the  past  was 
illumined.  They  were  not  given  to  be 
slighted  and  left  forgotten  ;  and  it  is  to 
his  lasting  detriment  that  any  one  permits 
himself  to  slight  or  forget  them.  Call  them 
up  to  your  recollection  when  the  spirit  is 
bruised  or  burdened,  and  find  in  them  a 
warrant  for  the  brave  trust  that  the  God  who 
has  brightened  your  lot  with  smiles  in  former 
days  will  lift  up  the  light  of  his  countenance 
upon  you  again,  and  will  never  suffer  you 
to  be  overwhelmed  in  darkness. 


47 


IV. 


THE    HIGHER    USES    OF   THE 
IMAGINATION. 


49 


IV, 

THE  HIGHER  USES  OF  THE 
IMAGINATION, 

**  Another  parable  put  He  forth  unto  them,  saying,  The 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  likened  unto  .  .  ." — Matt.  xiii.  24. 

"  All  these  things  spake  Jesus  unto  the  multitude  in 
parables  ;  and  without  a  parable  spake  He  not  unto  them." 
— Matt.  xiii.  34. 

A  CONSPICUOUS  feature  in  the  teaching  of  Jesus 
was  the  extent  to  which  He  dealt  in  parables. 
Sometimes  those  parables  were  very  brief. 
He  would  take  some  little  Incident  with  which 
everybody  was  familiar,  and  turn  it  Into  a  figure 
to  shadow  forth  the  idea  He  wished  to  con- 
vey. At  other  times  He  would  frame  a  story, 
and  hold  attention  riveted  as  He  described  the 
doings  or  experiences  of  the  persons  brought 
into  view  ;  and  He  did  this  in  a  style  so 
graphic  and  simple  that  everything  seemed 
to  live  and  move  before  people's  eyes. 

51 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

In  these  stories  there  was  always  some 
hidden  meaning  wrapped  up  which  He  meant 
those  listening  to  Him  to  find  out  and  apply 
for  themselves.  The  lesson  He  desired  to 
teach  might  be  rather  unpalatable ;  or  it 
might  seem  too  tame  if  presented  in  bare, 
prosaic  words.  And  so  He  sought  to  flash 
it  on  the  mind  in  the  form  of  a  picture  which 
His  hearers  could  carry  with  them,  and 
think  over,  until  its  deeper  suggestions 
dawned  upon  them  and  they  felt  its  force. 

Now,  what  was  all  this  but  an  appeal  to 
the  imagination  ?  It  was  an  effort  to  work 
on  that  remarkable  gift  the  human  soul  has — 
the  gift  of  seeing  in  things  visible  and 
tangible  the  hints  and  emblems  of  things  that 
are  higher.  It  is  through  this  gift  of  imagi- 
nation that  we  are  able  to  rise  above  the  dull 
surroundings  of  life,  and  form  conceptions  of 
what  is  grand  and  inspiring.  It  is  by  the  gift 
of  imagination  that  we  can  make  what  we 
actually  know  the  means  of  realising  and 
rendering  clear  to  ourselves  the  vague  ideas 
we  are  dimly  straining  to  grasp. 

Some  have  asserted  in  recent  years  that 
52 


Higher  Uses  of  the  Imagination 

this  is  a  vanishing  gift — that  the  power  of 
imagination  is  on  the  wane  in  the  present 
generation.  Whether  that  be  the  case  or 
not,  one  thing  at  least  is  patent — that  many 
are  inclined  to  speak  disparagingly  of  the 
influence  of  the  imagination.  They  think 
that  to  give  it  much  play  unfits  a  person 
for  the  practical  demands  of  life.  It  renders 
the  mind  impatient  of  the  matter-of-fact 
details  of  work-a-day  existence.  And  not 
a  few  are  particularly  afraid  of  the  effect  of 
imagination  in  religion.  It  makes  vision- 
aries and  dreamy  sentimentalists,  they  declare. 
It  carries  people  away  from  the  simple  reali- 
ties of  the  faith,  and  tempts  them  to  indulge 
in  vagaries  and  fancies  of  their  own  invention. 
Yet  here  is  the  fact  staring  us  in  the  face 
that  Jesus  devoted  a  large  part  of  His  teach- 
ing to  the  wakening  up  of  the  imagination  ; 
and  He  was  neither  a  sentimentalist  nor  a 
visionary,  but  seriously  practical.  He  drew 
striking  analogies  and  told  tales  of  moving 
interest  which  set  the  imagination  to  work. 
He  wanted  to  fill  men's  minds  with  pictures 
drawn  from  the  natural  course  of  things, 
53 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

pictures  which  might  rouse  them  to  think 
of  likenesses  and  correspondences  to  other 
things  that  did  not  appear  on  the  surface. 
Obviously,  He  placed  great  confidence  in  the 
power  of  the  imagination  to  enlarge  the 
range  of  men's  perceptions,  and  to  lift  them 
to  heights  of  thought  and  feeling  which  they 
could  not  otherwise  reach. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  imagination  is 
a  divinely  given  endowment  of  the  soul, 
designed  to  serve  divinely-appointed  ends  ; 
and  this  clearly  was  Jesus'  conviction.  It 
may  be  prostituted,  turned  to  ends  that  are 
unworthy,  as  any  other  endowment  may  be. 
Nevertheless  it  has  its  higher  uses  in  the 
wise  purpose  of  God,  and  when  earnestly 
employed  for  those  higher  uses  it  is  sure  to 
prove  an  inestimable  good. 

I.  The  Power  of  Visualising. 

One  important  use  of  the  imagination  is 
to  hold  stirring  scenes  of  life  before  the  mind 
in  a  way  that  shall  be  vivid  and  arresting. 
This  probably  is  the  simplest  form  in  which 

54 


Higher  Uses  of  the  Imagination 

the  imagination  can  be  exercised.  When  we 
read  or  hear  an  account  of  any  notable  action, 
we  have  all  of  us  a  certain  power  to  call  up 
the  vision  of  it  in  our  mental  eye.  We  can 
so  conceive  the  persons,  the  places,  and  the 
deeds  done,  that  the  whole  scene  becomes 
living  to  us.  We  seem  to  see  it ;  we  catch 
the  spirit  of  it :  the  impression  of  its  heroism, 
high  faith,  or  self-devotion  darts  upon  us 
and  thrills  us. 

This  is  one  of  the  benefits  which  imagina- 
tion enables  us  to  derive  from  books  of 
travel,  from  books  of  biography  and  history. 
It  enriches  the  chambers  of  our  thought  with 
pictures  of  daring  or  nobleness,  of  generosity 
or  sacrifice,  of  resolute  struggle  against 
oppression  and  wrong  ;  and  it  makes  these 
pictures  living,  full  of  interest,  and  full  also 
of  uplifting  suggestions  that  stimulate  our 
better  feelings.  Thus  we  can  see  Savonarola 
mounting  the  scaffold  and  calmly  facing  the 
crowd  he  had  laboured  to  lead  to  righteous- 
ness and  God  ;  and  our  hearts  throb  as  we 
feel  the  spell  of  his  courageous  fidelity.  We 
can  see  Luther,  baited  and  brow-beaten  by 

55 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

the  assembled  magnates  at  Worms,  yet 
calmly  declaring  his  refusal  to  recant ;  and 
our  pulse  beats  fast  as  we  mark  his  unflinch- 
ing steadfastness.  We  can  see  Mungo  Park, 
in  his  hour  of  despair,  bending  over  the  tuft 
of  moss  in  the  lone  African  wilds,  and  draw- 
ing from  it  the  assurance  that  a  divine  care 
was  guarding  him  still ;  and  a  fresh  breath 
of  hope  swells  our  own  bosom.  It  is  as  if 
we  had  been  there,  spectators  on  the  spot, 
witnesses  of  the  whole  transaction. 

Such  is  the  power  which  imagination 
supplies.  And  it  is  a  power  worth  cultivat- 
ing. Provided  we  withhold  its  exercise  from 
everything  low  or  coarse,  and  deliberately 
engage  it  on  what  is  elevating  and  pure,  it 
can  be  of  immense  service  in  numberless 
ways.  It  is  an  unspeakable  help,  for  in- 
stance, when  we  bring  its  influence  to  bear 
on  the  events  and  incidents  of  the  Gospel 
narrative.  What  a  new  zest  we  find  in  the 
life  and  doings  of  the  Lord  Jesus  when  we 
call  up  before  the  mind's  view  the  varied 
scenes  of  which  that  narrative  tells  !  It  is 
the  imagination  that  enables  us  to  do  this. 

56 


Higher  Uses  of  the  Imagination 

It  enables  us  to  picture  to  ourselves  the  very 
figure  of  the  Master  as  He  spoke  and  acted 
and  moved  about  amongst  men.  We  visual- 
ise the  description.  The  quiet  hills  of 
Galilee  and  the  busy  lake-shore,  the  tree- 
shaded  streets  of  Jericho,  the  wooded  slopes 
of  Olivet,  the  crowded  temple-courts  of  Jeru- 
salem, the  tragic  cross  on  Calvary, — all  rise 
clear  to  our  mental  gaze  as  we  read  the 
sacred  story ;  and  the  gracious  Form  of 
Jesus  stands  out  vivid  to  us  as  if  we  actually 
looked  upon  His  face.  And  thus  the  Person 
of  the  Lord  grows  real  to  our  apprehension. 
We  feel  the  wonder  and  the  beauty  of  His 
actions.  We  enter  into  their  spirit  and 
purpose.  He  becomes  to  us  a  living  Pres- 
ence, wooing  and  touching  our  hearts.  And 
it  is  by  the  aid  of  imagination  that  this 
inspiring  effect  is  wrought. 


2.  The  Grasping  of  the  Spiritual. 

A  second  use  of  the  imagination  is  to  give 
shape  and  colour  to  great  spiritual   truths. 
It  has   often    been   said  that  everything   in 
57 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

life   is   double.     As   Shelley   has   expressed 

**  Nothing  in  the  world  is  single ; 
All  things  by  a  law  divine 
In  one  another's  being  mingle." 

And  that  is  veritably  true.  Everything 
that  is  visible  and  material  bears  in  it  a 
correspondence  or  resemblance  to  something 
else  in  a  more  mysterious  realm  of  being. 
In  all  that  the  senses  perceive  going  on 
around  us  there  are  hidden  symbols  and 
images  of  things  which  the  senses  cannot 
grasp.  What  is  seen  does  not  stand  by 
itself,  nor  does  it  exist  for  itself; — it  is 
always  the  type  or  sign  of  something  that 
is  not  seen  and  higher  than  itself.  Hence 
the  world  is  crammed  full  of  analogies, 
emblematic  figures,  that  shadow  forth 
invisible  realities,  too  grand  to  be  put  into 
plain  ordinary  speech. 

And  to  discover  these  analogies,  to  lay 
hold  of  them  and  keep  them  before  the 
mind,  is  the  function  of  the  imagination. 
It  is  a  splendid  thing  to  grasp  a  great  truth 
or  a  noble  thought,  and  to  be  able  to  link  it 

58 


Higher  Uses  of  the  Imagination 

on  to  some  palpable  circumstance  in  life  with 
which  you  are  familiar.  Then  the  palpable, 
familiar  circumstance  becomes  to  you  the 
image  or  symbol  of  that  great  thought  or 
truth.  It  gives  it  body  and  form  and  colour, 
and  makes  the  thought  or  truth  itself  more 
intensely  vivid  to  your  heart  and  feeling. 
When,  for  example,  the  Psalmist  caught  hold 
of  the  idea  of  the  divine  faithful  guidance 
and  guardianship  in  the  events  of  his 
experience,  what  an  enormous  help  to  his 
inward  comfort  it  must  have  been  when  he 
found  he  could  link  on  that  idea  to  the 
homely  incidents  of  the  shepherd's  calling 
which  he  knew  so  well,  and  say,  "  The  Lord 
is  my  Shepherd ! "  Henceforth  he  could 
never  see  the  herdsman  on  the  hills,  lead- 
ing his  flock,  without  having  the  reality  of 
the  divine  care  made  more  clear  and  com- 
prehensible to  his  soul. 

That  is  but  one  illustration  among  many 
of  the  power  of  the  imagination  to  seize 
upon  comparisons  and  analogies  drawn  from 
earthly  things  and  scenes,  and  so  give  body 
and  colour  to  high  truths  which  otherwise 
59 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

would  be  vague  and  dim.  It  was  to  kindle 
the  imagination  and  assist  it  in  doing  this 
that  Jesus  dealt  in  parables  so  largely. 
"  Earth,"  as  one  of  the  poets  has  said,  "  is 
the  shadow  of  heaven,"  and  imagination  is 
granted  that  we  may  use  it  to  find  in  the 
sights  and  occurrences  of  earth  the  figures 
and  pictures  of  heavenly  ideas,  which  are 
true  for  all  time  and  vital  to  our  happiness. 

3.  The  Redeeming  of  the  Commonplace. 

This  leads  on  to  a  third  use  of  the 
imagination,  and  that  is— to  irradiate  the 
commonplace  with  the  glow  of  lofty  mean- 
ings. Wordsworth  speaks  of  the  power  of 
the  poet  to  illumine  the  common  affairs  of 
life  by  the  magical  gift  he  possesses.  He 
can 

"  Add  the  gleam, 
The  light  that  never  was  on  sea  or  land," 

to  brighten  up  the  most  prosaic  sights 
and  objects  around  him.  And  we  have  all 
a  little  of  the  poet  in  us,  because  we  all  have 
a  little  of  the  same  magical  gift  of  imagina- 
60 


Higher  Uses  of  the  Imagination 

tion.  And  this  gift  may  be  turned  to 
priceless  service  if  we  bring  the  sacred 
revelations  of  religion  to  bear  upon  its 
exercise.  For  those  revelations  convey  the 
assurance  of  a  real  divine  purpose  working 
itself  out  in  the  common  round  of  every 
one's  tasks  and  cares,  a  divine  purpose  even 
in  the  most  monotonous  daily  grind.  And 
to  grasp  that  conception,  and  realise  that  in 
your  hum-drum  circumstances  and  duties 
you  have  some  end  to  fulfil  worth  God's 
placing  you  there  —  to  grasp  that,  and 
hold  it  steadily  in  your  mind,  sheds  a 
radiance  on  your  lot  and  on  your  honest 
efforts  which  is  marvellously  brightening. 
It  lights  up  your  commonplace  toil  and 
struggle  with  high  and  wondrous  meanings. 
It  connects  the  flat  routine  of  your  days  with 
the  vast  scheme  of  the  Almighty.  It  is  like 
a  halo  of  sacredness  thrown  round  your  life. 
Yield  your  imagination  to  the  Spirit's 
quickening  touch,  and  you  will  see  the  halo. 
Try  to  see  it ;  and  when  it  flashes  on  you, 
never  lose  sight  of  it ;  keep  it  in  view 
steady  and  clear.  And  in  many  a  despondent 
6i 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

hour,  when  your  way  is  dull  and  dark,  the 
gleam  of  some  divine  end  you  are  serving 
will  light  up  the  drudgery  of  your  lot,  and 
revive  and  strengthen  your  heart. 


4.  The  Vision  of  the  Ideal. 

A  fourth  use  of  the  imagination  is  to  spur 
the  mind  by  the  vision  of  attainments  not  yet 
reached.  For  imagination  has  a  remarkable 
capacity  for  stretching  away  from  the  present 
to  the  future,  from  the  actual  to  the  ideal. 
It  is  through  the  exercise  of  the  imagination 
that  a  man  conceives  to  himself  the  advance- 
ment in  his  position,  the  extension  of  his 
business,  the  improvement  of  his  methods 
and  machinery,  the  increase  of  his  knowledge 
and  culture,  which  may  be  possible  for  him, 
and  minister  to  his  success.  In  the  silent 
chambers  within  he  sketches  and  paints  it, 
until  he  sees  it  all  shining  before  his  mental 
eye.  And  as  he  sees  it,  his  ambition  is 
whetted  ;  and  unless  he  be  a  mere  builder  of 
castles  in  the  air,  he  rouses  his  will  and 
energies  to  work  forward,  as  far  as  he  can, 
62 


Higher  Uses  of  the  Imagination 

towards  realising  what  he  sees.  Imagination 
has  furnished  him  with  the  vision  of  an  ideal, 
and  that  spurs  him  on. 

But  imagination  may  be  used  to  stir  the 
mind  by  the  charm  of  a  far  higher  vision. 
It  may  be  used  to  picture  the  nobleness  of  a 
brave,  devoted,  Christ-like  life.  That  was 
what  the  Apostle  meant  when  he  prayed  on 
behalf  of  the  Ephesians  that  "  Christ  might 
dwell  in  their  hearts  by  faith  "  (Eph.  iii.  17). 
He  was  thinking  of  the  image  of  Christ  kept 
gleaming  before  their  inward  gaze,  to  draw 
them  onwards  to  close  resemblance  to  the 
Saviour's  beauty  and  grace. 

And  there  is  a  great  secret  here — the 
secret  of  making  the  best  of  life  and  its 
precious  possibilities.  To  have  the  mind's 
eye  filled  with  a  vision  of  the  good  and  brave 
things  we  may  do,  the  lofty  aims  for  which 
we  may  strive,  the  self-denying  battle  we 
may  fight  for  Christ  and  conscience'  sake — 
how  that  kindles  aspiration  and  sets  the  soul 
straining  towards  purer  heights  and  better 
things !  Let  a  man  cherish  every  such 
vision  when    it   flashes    upon   him  ;   let  his 

63 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

imagination  seize  it  and  hold  it  floating 
before  his  view ;  then  he  will  have  the 
grandest  of  all  ideals  to  give  his  life  its  true 
bent,  and  to  urge  him  on  to  the  nobleness 
and  spiritual  worth  which  Christ  lived  and 
suffered  to  help  him  to  reach. 


64 


THE    INSPIRATIONAL    FORCE    OF 
FAITH    AND    HOPE. 


B  6s 


V. 


THE  INSPIRATIONAL  FORCE  OF 
FAITH  AND  HOPE. 

*<That  your  faith   and   hope   might   be  in   God" — 
I  Peter  i.  21. 

Faith  and  Hope  are  often  brought  into  close 
conjunction  in  the  New  Testament  Scriptures ; 
and  they  are  usually  found  together  in  the  real 
experience  of  life.  The  reason  is,  that  they 
are  two  forms  of  the  souFs  endowment  which 
are  most  intimately  allied,  and  which,  there- 
fore, are  ever  ready  to  blend  with  each  other, 
and  support  each  other's  activity. 

They  carry  with  them  a  virtue  which  is 
always  welcome,  to  produce  a  widening  of 
the  mental  horizon,  a  freshening  of  interest, 
a  heightening  of  the  zest  of  existence.  This 
is  especially  the  case  when  Faith  and  Hope 
are  wakened  into  exercise  by  the  revelation 

67 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

given  in  Jesus  Christ  of  the  grace  and  good- 
ness of  God,  and  when  they  are  kept  alive 
by  the  breath  of  the  Spirit  Divine.  Then 
Faith  becomes  gifted  with  a  singular  capacity 
of  spiritual  vision.  It  catches  glimpses  of 
the  higher  meaning  of  things,  of  the  grandeur 
of  the  divine  purpose,  the  certainty  that 
Eternal  Love  rules  and  reigns,  and  that,  in 
spite  of  all  the  tangled  confusion  of  the 
world,  the  reality  of  that  Love  will  at  last 
be  made  clear.  Then  Hope,  too,  gains  an 
unwonted  power  to  glance  forward  into  the 
future,  and  see  the  Eternal  Love  working  on 
in  front,  preparing  good  in  the  midst  of 
opposing  evil,  and  opening  the  path  through 
danger  and  darkness  to  victory  and  peace. 

I.  Faith  and  Hope  are  Transfiguring. 

They  bring  the  radiance  of  a  higher  realm 
to  bear  on  the  dull,  dry  details  of  life's  dusty 
ways,  and  gild  them  with  brighter  hues  than 
ever  they  previously  wore.  The  most  hum- 
drum work  becomes  sacred  when  that 
radiance  falls  upon  it.  The  faith  that  holds 
68 


Inspirational  Force 

the  goodness  and  wisdom  of  God  as  a 
treasured  conviction  sees  the  drab,  grey- 
things  of  daily  experience  suffused  with 
colours  fairer  than  ordinary  eyes  can  perceive. 
Indeed,  were  it  not  for  this  transfiguring 
vision  of  Faith,  how  dingy  and  empty  much 
that  we  pass  through  from  day  to  day  would 
seem  !  It  is  faith  which  enables  us  to  discern 
the  possible  good  lying  hidden  beneath  the 
prosaic  grind  and  drudgery,  the  possible  gain 
to  be  reaped  through  the  strenuous  grapple 
with  difficulties  and  discouragements.  Faith 
illumines  even  the  dreary  incidents  of  life 
by  detecting  in  them  the  gleam  of  some- 
thing precious  enshrined  within.  This,  as 
Tennyson  reminds  us,  is  the  mystic  power  of 
Faith  :— 

"She  sees  the  Best  that  glimmers  through  the  Worst, 
She  feels  the  Sun  is  hid  but  for  a  night, 
She  spies  the  Summer  through  the  Winter's  bud, 
She  tastes  the  fruit  before  the  blossom  falls. 
She  hears  the  lark  within  the  songless  egg, 
She  finds  the  fountain  where  they  wailed  *  Mirage.' " 

In  short.  Faith  sees  things  in  the  light  of 
God's  goodness,  guaranteed  by  the  cross  and 

69 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

by  the  Saviour's  risen  life,  and  In  that  light 
hidden  possibilities  begin  to  shine  out  where 
all  before  seemed  purposeless  and  vain. 

And  Hope  also  has  a  transfiguring  power. 
Hope  casts  the  radiance  of  promise  over  the 
mists  and  shadows  of  coming  days.  When 
hope,  kindled  by  the  divine  love  In  Christ, 
springs  up  In  the  heart,  how  wondrously 
sunny  Is  the  glow  that  falls  on  all  around 
and  on  all  our  forward  way  !  The  aspect  of 
the  world  and  Its  affairs  changes  to  us  then. 
Hard  and  trying  things  are  brightened,  and 
the  cheerier  outlook  tinges  the  present  stress 
and  struggle  with  a  softer  hue. 

**  Hope  is  the  rainbow  to  the  storms  of  life. 
The  evening  beam  that  smiles  the  clouds  away, 
And  tints  to-morrow  with  prophetic  day." 

2.  Faith  and  Hope  are  Stimulating. 

They  act  as  an  Incentive  to  high  endeavour. 
For  the  moment  we  grasp  the  nobler  pos- 
sibilities of  life  and  catch  the  sunny  gleam  of 
promise  on  the  days  in  front — that  moment 
we  feel  spurred  to  put  forth  our  energies. 
The  will  is  Invigorated  ;  we  are  roused  to  do 
70 


Inspirational  Force 

and  dare.  All  the  best  work  ever  done  in 
the  world  has  been  done  under  the  instiga- 
tion of  Faith  and  Hope.  And  the  Faith  and 
Hope  that  draw  their  strength  from  God 
have  fired  men  and  women  with  a  decision 
and  plodding  tenacity  of  purpose  which  made 
them  capable  of  the  heaviest  tasks. 

And  what  a  power  of  patient  endurance 
Faith  and  Hope  can  impart  to  the  soul !  In 
many  a  case  the  wrestle  with  trouble  and 
personal  infirmity  is  long  and  sore  ;  yet  the 
earnest  wrestler  is  enabled  to  fight  on  and 
wait — wait  and  trust — because  of  the  inner 
assurance  of  victory  and  the  warrant  given 
by  the  glorified  Christ  that  God  is  on  his 
side.  That  is  the  infallible  support  for  us 
all.  In  dark  days,  days  of  sad  inward 
struggle,  that  assurance  is  the  grand  stimulus 
we  have  to  keep  our  souls  in  patience  and 
brace  us  to  endure. 

"The  heavenward  gaze  of  souls  sublime 
At  once  transcends  and  conquers  time." 

And    then,  as    for   courage,    there    is    no 
more  potent  stimulus  than  Faith  and  Hope 
71 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

"  in  God  "  to  make  men  brave.  It  tightens 
up  all  the  fibres  of  the  spirit  to  feel  sure  of 
the  Everlasting  Goodness  and  the  gracious 
purpose  of  the  Everlasting  Will.  Such  an 
assurance  stirs  to  heroisms  in  duty  which 
lift  common  human  nature  to  the  loftiest 
levels  of  moral  dignity  and  worth  ;  and  what 
terrible  ordeals  it  can  nerve  men  to  face  with 
calm  daring  and  unflinching  heart,  history 
has  many  splendid  examples  to  show.  When 
Luther  was  pressing  forward  his  work  of 
Reformation,  and  several  of  the  German 
dukes  and  princes  were  declaring  themselves 
in  his  favour,  a  cardinal  legate  was  sent  from 
Rome  to  deal  with  him  and  crush  him  into 
silence.  "  The  Pope's  little  finger,"  said  the 
haughty  Church  dignitary,  "  is  stronger  than 
all  Germany.  Do  you  expect  your  princes 
to  take  up  arms  to  defend  you — you^  a 
wretched  worm  like  you  ?  I  tell  you,  No  ! 
and  where  will  you  be  then  ? " 

"  Then,  as  now,"  was  Luther's  quiet  reply, 
"in  the  hands  of  Almighty  God." 

Thus  spoke  out  the  courageous  soul. 
And  thousands  in  all  ranks  and  grades  of 
72 


Inspirational   Force 

life  have  been  roused  to  brave  danger  with 
a  similar  courage,  because  they  also  vividly 
believed  themselves  sustained  and  guarded 
by  the  presence  of  the  Invisible. 


3.  Faith  and  Hope  are  Creative. 

What  I  mean  is  this  :  when  a  person  is 
really  alive  to  the  possible  good  which  the 
love  of  God  has  put  within  his  reach,  and 
when,  with  the  vision  of  that  possible  good 
in  his  soul,  he  makes  a  genuine  effort  to 
reach  it, — then  gradually  he  works  out  the 
very  conditions  essential  for  reaching  it. 
The  hindrances  may  be  great  and  the  limita- 
tions of  circumstance  hampering  ;  yet  it  is 
simply  amazing  what  Faith  and  Hope  can 
do  in  enabling  any  one,  not  only  to  mould 
his  circumstances  to  the  bent  of  his  will, 
but  also  to  effect  changes  in  his  environment 
which  further  his  purpose,  and  even  to 
control  for  good  the  events  that  arise  in- 
dependent of  his  own  wish  or  choice.  It  is 
possible  by  the  power  of  Faith  so  to  master 
the  hard  details  of  one's  lot  that  they  become 

72> 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

stepping-stones  to  the  fulfilment  of  one's 
higher  ideals.  Yes,  and  one  can  hope,  and 
even  in  seeming  defeat  and  bafflement  can 
toil  and  labour  in  hope, 

—  "till  Hope  creates 
From  its  own  wreck  the  thing  it  contemplates." 

Who  does  not  know  some  instances  in  which 
a  person's  Faith  and  Hope  have  so  worked 
upon  his  surroundings,  and  so  modified  and 
utilised  them,  that  he  has  made  them  the 
means  of  gaining  the  good  on  which  his 
aspirations  were  set  ?  It  is  by  the  creative 
energies  of  Faith  and  Hope  throbbing  in 
the  soul  that  such  achievements  are  accom- 
plished,— the  creative  energies  stirred  and 
vivified  by  yielding  to  the  power  of  grace 
divine.  Factors  in  our  environment  which 
we  cannot  alter,  we  may  yet  turn  to  use  for 
worthy  ends  ;  disadvantages  in  our  circum- 
stances which  we  cannot  remove,  we  may  so 
grapple  with  as  to  develop  moral  strength 
and  gain  an  elevated  freshening  of  soul. 
Everything  depends  on  what  we  carry  with 
us  in  our  own  inner  life.  That  is  why  it  is 
74 


Inspirational   Force 

so  important  that  our  Faith  and  Hope  should 
be  in  God  ;  for  the  quality  and  temper 
thereby  inspired  enlarge  our  inward  resources, 
and  prepare  us  in  our  deepest  spirit  for  any 
experiences  that  may  come. 

Maurice  Maeterlinck,  the  Belgian  mystic, 
has  a  suggestive  saying  in  one  of  his  books 
— "  None  but  yourself  shall  you  meet  on 
the  highway  of  Fate "  ;  and  it  is  wise  to 
ponder  seriously  the  truth  which  the  words 
convey.  "  None  but  yourself  shall  you  meet 
on  the  highway  of  Fate."  Yes  ;  the  things 
that  happen  to  us  as  we  step  along  our  path 
will  prove  friendly  or  unfriendly  to  our 
happiness  just  as  we  are  inwardly  qualified 
to  make  them.  The  good  or  the  evil  which 
may  come  through  these  things  is  not  in  the 
things  themselves,  but  in  the  secret  disposi- 
tions of  our  own  mind  and  will.  Their 
effect  upon  us  is  determined  by  the  manner 
and  spirit  in  which  we  take  them.  It  is 
always  what  a  person  has  and  is  within  himself 
that  creates  the  elements  of  blessing  for  him 
in  the  events  and  circumstances  with  which 
he  has  to  deal.     And  nothing  is  so  effectual 

7S 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

in  creating  the  real  elements  of  blessing  as 
the  sacred  energies  begotten  in  the  soul  by 
reverent  surrender  to  the  Spirit  of  God. 
We  may  be  inclined  to  fret  and  complain 
that  the  good  of  life  is  denied  us,  that  our 
surroundings  debar  us  from  the  satisfaction 
and  exhilaration  we  long  to  feel.  But  our 
fretting  and  complaining  only  aggravate  the 
trouble.  The  imperative  need  is  to  cast  our- 
selves on  the  Father  above  and  get  wakened 
in  us  that  Faith  and  Hope  which  shall  give 
us  power  to  use  circumstances  for  the  highest 
ends,  and  to  convert  our  surroundings  into 
helps  for  the  enrichment  of  our  hearts. 
That  is  the  true  moral  victory,  and  through 
Faith  and  Hope  we  create  the  conditions  for 
winning  it. 

4.  Faith  and  Hope  are  Contagious. 

Their  influence  passes  from  soul  to  soul. 
There  is  never  a  man  or  woman,  cherishing  a 
buoyant,  trustful  spirit,  but  is  in  some  degree 
an  inspirer  of  others.  The  weary  and  the 
heavy-laden  receive  somehow  a  new  access  of 

76 


Inspirational  Force 

strength  when  such  a  man  or  woman  is  by. 
It  is  those  who  have  a  brave,  bright  confid- 
ence in  the  eternal  goodness  and  love  that 
hearten  their  fellows  bearing  the  burden  and 
battle  around  them.  The  common  difficulty, 
felt  almost  everywhere,  is  the  temptation  to 
be  discouraged.  So  hard  is  it  to  persevere 
amid  disappointing  obstructions  and  besetting 
infirmities,  that  the  spirits  are  apt  often  to 
languish  and  faint.  But  in  presence  of 
some  resolute  soul,  lit  up  with  a  sacred  Faith 
and  Hope,  we  are  imbued  with  fresh  ardour 
and  the  springs  of  high  endeavour  are  set 
moving  again.  We  feel  stirred  to  nobler 
impulse  in  contact  with  those  who  are  filled 
with  strength  and  brightness  derived  from 
trust  in  the  faithfulness  of  God.  Our  hearts 
are  uplifted  as  their  kindling  influence 
touches  us. 

And  they  are  the  saviours  and  helpers 
of  society,  those  spiritually  brightened, 
strengthened  souls.  It  is  they  who  rouse 
to  upward  effort,  and  keep  the  better  aspira- 
tions of  their  fellow-men  alive.  Wherever 
they  come  they  bring  the  breath  of  reviving 

n 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

encouragement  with  them.     These    are  the 

bright,  strong   souls  who  fulfil   the  mission 

so    finely    described  in    Matthew   Arnold's 
memorable  lines  : — 

"Beacons  of  hope,  ye  appear! 
Languor  is  not  in  your  heart, 
Weakness  is  not  in  your  word. 
Weariness  not  on  your  brow. 

At  your  voice 

Panic,  despair,  flee  away. 
Ye  move  through  the  ranks,  recall 
The  stragglers,  refresh  the  outworn, 
Praise,  reinspire  the  brave. 

t  >  .  • 

Ye  fill  up  the  gaps  in  our  files, 
Strengthen  the  wavering  line, 
Stablish,  continue  our  march, 
On,  to  the  bounds  of  the  waste. 
On,  to  the  City  of  God." 

Certainly  it  is  a  blessed  service  which 
Faith  and  Hope  enable  men  and  women  to 
render  to  their  brothers  and  sisters  struggling 
fiorward  on  their  pilgrimage  to  eternity.  It 
is  something  worth  living  fior,  to  be  the 
means  of  brightening  the  hearts  and  helping 
the  higher  strivings  of  toiling,  tempted,  care- 

78 


Inspirational   Force 

burdened  humanity.  And  why  should  not 
every  one  desire  and  pray  to  have  his  own 
small  share  in  the  gracious  privilege  ?  Un- 
speakable blessing  is  theirs  who,  by  the 
contagious  influence  of  their  Faith  and  Hope, 
can  cheer  others  on  in  the  upward  path,  and 
inspire  others  with  freshened  resolve  to 
fight  their  battle  and  hold  true  to  their 
own  soul  and  to  God, 


79 


VI. 
THE    DISCIPLINE    OF    THE    WILL. 


8i 


VI. 
THE   DISCIPLINE   OF   THE  WILL. 

"Ye  will  not  come  unto  Me,  that  ye  might  have  life." 
— John  v.  40. 

When  Tennyson  said,  in  Enid's  song,  that 

"  Man  is  man,  and  master  of  his  fate," 

he  was  but  echoing  a  truth  which  Jesus  here 
distinctly  recognised, — the  truth,  namely, 
that  each  man  is  possessed  of  a  separate 
independence,  and  has  the  carving  of  his 
course  and  the  shaping  of  his  destiny  largely 
in  his  own  hands. 

In  all  the  supreme  concerns  of  existence 
this  undoubtedly  is  the  case.  What  a  man 
makes  of  his  life,  the  good  or  evil  he  works 
out  in  it,  is  determined  mainly  by  the  exer- 
cise of  that  inscrutable  power  in  his  being 
which  we  call  the  Will.     On  that  the  great 

83 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

issues  of  weal  or  woe  actually  turn.  Hence 
the  emphasis  laid  by  Jesus  on  the  bent  taken 
by  the  Will  ; — "  Ye  will  not  come  unto  Me, 
that  ye  might  have  life." 

For,  deeper  than  everything  else — down 
beneath  conscience,  reason,  memory,  faith 
and  hope — lies  the  Will.  It  is  the  centre  of 
each  one's  personality,  the  mysterious  factor 
in  each  one's  life  ;  and  it  is  self-regulating 
and  free.  To  be  sure,  heredity,  environ- 
ment, and  early  upbringing  may  so  far  affect 
its  action  and  impose  certain  tendencies  upon 
it.  Yet,  that  these  influences  are  not  irre- 
sistible there  is  abundant  evidence  to  show  ; 
and  the  example  of  thousands  has  demon- 
strated that  the  will  can  still  assert  itself,  and 
still  retain  its  capacity  for  independent  self- 
direction,  even  in  face  of  cramping  hostile 
conditions  which  appear  calculated  to  hold  it 
in  hopeless  thrall.  This  unquenchable  free- 
dom of  the  Will  is,  indeed,  the  ground  on 
which  personal  responsibility  is  based  ;  and 
the  conscience,  as  well  as  the  common  sense, 
of  mankind  has  been  constrained  to  ac- 
knowledge it. 

84 


The  Discipline  of  the  Will 

I.  Defects. 

There  are  certain  Defects^  however,  under 
which  the  Will  suffers,  through  the  influence 
upon  it  which  heredity,  environment,  or  early 
training  has  wrought.  These  defects  vary  in 
different  individuals,  but  in  one  form  or  other 
they  are  constantly  forced  on  our  attention. 

In  some,  for  example,  the  Will  is  sluggish. 
It  is  disinclined  to  the  exertion  required 
at  the  moment  in  facing  the  task  that 
has  to  be  met ;  disposed  to  put  matters 
off  till  the  mood  or  the  season  shall  seem 
more  congenial.  Thus  we  have  the  easy- 
going, procrastinating  Will,  that  keeps  dally- 
ing with  good  intentions,  yet  lazily  hangs 
back  and  postpones  their  fulfilment — leaving 
many  a  day  behind  darkened  by  the  shadow 
of  shirked  duties  and  lost  opportunities. 

In  others  the  Will  is  capricious.  It  tends 
to  fly  off  at  a  tangent,  under  the  impulse 
of  some  new  fancy  or  whim.  This  pro- 
duces the  wayward  character — the  character 
you  never  can  count  upon,  never  can  tell 
in  what  mood  or  temper  you  will  find  it, — 

85 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

the  character  that  now  and  then  strikes  out 
in  an  unexpected  line,  just  to  show  its 
superiority  to  restraint,  or  to  enjoy  the 
sense  of  its  own  liberty.  That  the  danger 
of  such  self-willed  capriciousness  is  grave, 
the  errors  and  miseries  into  which  it  plunges 
many  lives  are  sufficient  witness. 

Again,  there  are  cases  in  which  the  Will 
is  slack.  Not  a  few  are  troubled  with  this 
infirmity.  Their  Will  does  not  take  a 
clenching  grip  of  any  purpose  it  forms  and 
hold  on  to  it.  It  is  wanting  in  steadiness, 
in  tenacity,  persistence.  It  sets  its  aim  on 
a  worthy  object,  and  for  a  while  makes  an 
attempt  to  work  towards  it,  but  by  and  by 
its  energy  flags,  and  it  drops  the  efFort 
because  of  its  tedious  monotony,  or  because 
of  the  slow  coming  of  the  wished-for  result. 
How  much  good  labour  fails  to  reach  its 
full  reward  owing  to  this  defect  of  slackness, 
it  would  be  impossible  to  estimate.  Yet  we 
see  enough  to  convince  us  that  men  and 
women  are  often  robbed  of  the  high  satisfac- 
tion on  which  they  fixed  their  hopes,  through 
the  inability  of  their  Will  to  persevere. 
86 


The  Discipline  of  the  Will 

Then  there  is  the  state  of  the  Will 
which  we  usually  speak  of  as  weak.  It  is 
the  fault  of  some  fine  natures,  genial  and 
talented  too,  that  they  are  easily  led.  They 
are  pliable  to  the  pressure  of  other  natures 
that  are  harder  and  more  assertive.  They 
lack  resoluteness  to  stand  by  their  own 
conviction,  or  to  act  on  their  own  judgment 
as  to  what  they  ought  to  do.  This  does  not 
look  a  glaring  fault,  yet  it  may  be  frightfully 
damaging.  It  may  mean  the  crippling  of 
the  life.  It  may  render  admirable  qualities 
utterly  profitless  and  spoil  the  good  of  much 
that  was  once  fair  and  promising.  For  the 
weak  Will  causes  drifting,  and  drifting  may 
lead  to  a  moral  slavery  under  which  the 
soul  remorsefully  writhes. 

2.  Discipline. 

These  defects,  however,  are  not  incurable. 
No  man  or  woman  is  doomed  to  go  on 
through  life  with  a  Will  that  is  sluggish, 
capricious,  unsteady,  or  weak.  The  faults  of 
the  Will  can  be  remedied,  and  no  one  can 

87 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

honestly  endeavour  to  remedy  them  without 
succeeding  in  a  substantial  degree. 

But  it  must  be  through  a  process  of 
Discipline^  and  that  discipline  must  be  our 
own  individual  concern.  We  must  take 
ourselves  in  hand,  so  to  speak,  and  school 
our  Will  into  greater  fitness  for  the  serious 
business  of  life.  The  task  may  be  heavy  ; 
still,  if  we  have  any  earnestness  of  feeling, 
any  sense  of  loyalty  to  Christ,  or  faith  in  the 
high  purpose  of  God  for  us,  it  is  our 
bounden  part  to  attempt  it.  And  as  we  do 
attempt  it  there  are  invisible  forces  that  come 
in  to  assist  us.  The  energies  of  the  Divine 
Spirit  are  waiting,  ready  to  sustain,  and  to 
co-operate  with,  every  sterling  effort  of  the 
human  soul  to  rise  above  its  infirmities. 
We  go  not  on  this  warfare  on  our  own 
charges.  The  very  entrance  upon  the 
effort  is  the  fulfilment  of  a  condition  which 
guarantees  the  inspirations  of  grace  from  on 
high. 

But  how  is  the  process  of  discipline  to  be 
carried  on  ?     What  means  should  be  adopted 
to  get  the  Will  balanced  and  strengthened  ? 
2>Z 


The  Discipline  of  the  Will 

We  must  take  ourselves  in  hand,  as  I 
have  said  ;  and  the  simplest  way  to  proceed 
is  to  frame  a  few  practical  rules  for  the 
regulation  of  our  conduct, — in  such  points, 
for  instance,  as  the  arrangement  of  our 
duties,  and  the  choice  of  our  voluntary- 
pursuits  and  associations  ;  and  then  try  to 
hold  these  before  the  mind  as  frequently  as 
we  possibly  can.  What  the  rules  should  be, 
must  be  left  to  each  one's  6wn  clearest 
intelligence  to  determine  ;  but  if  they  are 
framed  in  the  light  of  earnest  thought  and 
with  a  sincere  desire  to  be  faithful  to 
conscience  and  to  Christ,  the  very  anxiety  to 
conform  the  life  to  them  will  tend  to  rouse 
the  Will  and  brace  it  to  exertion. 

Failures  there  are  sure  to  be— perhaps 
many  failures.  The  purpose  may  be  languid, 
the  resolution  break  down  or  melt  away. 
Nevertheless,  to  keep  the  rules  in  sight,  to 
fall  back  upon  them,  and  to  repeat  and 
renew  the  endeavour  to  shape  the  actions  by 
them, — these  are  vital  points  in  the  attain- 
ment of  success.  And  just  as  it  is  by  the 
practice  of  a  certain  regimen  and  system  of 

89 


The  Higher  Powers   of  the  Soul 

drill,  and  by  trying  again  and  again  where 
he  falls  short,  that  the  would-be  athlete  gets 
his  muscles  developed  into  vigorous  trim, 
so  it  is  by  the  practice  of  such  methods  of 
self-discipline  as  we  find  it  advisable  to  frame 
that  we  get  the  Will  trained  to  firmness 
and  strength.  Every  new  effort  made  after 
failure  helps  to  bring  the  Will  into  line  with 
the  course  of  action  marked  out, — helps  to 
form  its  bent  and  give  it  greater  stability. 
And  so  gradually  the  bent  becomes  a 
habit,  and  habit  supplies  a  momentum  of 
force  which  is  of  unspeakable  value.  Such 
discipline  for  the  healthy  condition  of  the 
Will  is  a  solemn  obligation  laid  upon  us 
by  the  vast  interests  we  have  at  stake  as 
immortal  beings,  with  our  life  and  destiny 
largely  in  our  own  making. 

3.  Applications  of  the  Discipline. 

This  discipline  has  to  be    applied  to    the 
action  of  the  Will  in  various  directions. 
And    first    of    all,    in    the    control    of  the 

motives.       Most    people    have    their    better 
90 


The  Discipline  of  the  Will 

moments  when  high  thoughts  stir  them,  and 
they  are  moved  by  aspirations  after  the  pure 
goodness  flashed  upon  them  by  the  Christian 
ideal.  And  for  the  time  the  Will  consents  ; 
it  takes  sides  with  the  nobler  fervour  thus 
kindled.  It  is  sv/ayed  by  the  mind's  highest 
emotions,  because  meanwhile  these  are  also 
particularly  vivid  and  strong.  Then  is  the 
season  to  fix  it,  to  bring  it  to  a  decision,  and 
bend  its  action  towards  the  highest, — to 
commit  it,  in  short,  to  a  clear  choice  of  the 
highest.  For  the  glow  of  fervour  may  lose 
some  of  its  warmth  ;  the  aspiring  impulse 
may  somewhat  fade,  and  other  motives 
and  feelings  awake,  of  a  character  more 
sordid  and  low.  The  Will  alone  can  settle 
whether  it  is  the  higher  motives  or  the 
lower  that  are  to  regulate  the  conduct  and 
life.  To  the  Will  belongs  the  prerogative  of 
determining  the  critical  question,  which  of 
them  it  shall  be. 

But  if  the  Will  has  once  been  pledged  to 

the  hiphest  motives  when  their  strenfjth  was 

keenly    felt,    and    if    that    pledge    has    been 

renewed    again    and    again    whenever    their 

91 


The  Higher  Powers  ot  the  Soul 

strength  was  revived,  there  will  be  a  surer 
prospect  of  its  growing  in  ability  and  inclina- 
tion to  hold  fast  by  those  higher  motives, 
even  when  they  happen  to  be  weak,  and  also 
to  rule  down  the  lower  motives,  even  when 
they  happen  to  be  strong.  There  is  no  fatal 
necessity  resting  on  us  to  obey  the  strongest 
motive,  as  some  would  have  us  believe. 
The  strongest  is  not  always  the  best.  And 
it  is  part  of  the  august  independence  of 
the  Will  that  it  can  set  aside  the  strongest 
motive  if  it  is  felt  to  be  base,  and  choose 
to  obey  the  motives  that  are  felt  to  be 
highest.  The  Will  undoubtedly  does  possess 
that  power,  and  discipline  draws  it  out  and 
confirms  it. 

Then  in  the  pursuit  of  lofty  ends  the 
discipline  of  the  Will  is  of  untold  value. 
Many  a  person  has  his  visions  of  the  brave, 
honourable  things  he  should  like  to  do,  his 
glimpses,  caught  from  the  spiritual  grandeur 
of  Christ,  of  the  objects  most  truly  satisfying 
and  worth  striving  for  in  life  ;  and  he  has 
formed  the  resolve  that  henceforth  these 
objects  shall  be  for  him  supreme,  and  his 
92 


The  Discipline  of  the  Will 

energies  be  bent  to  gain  them.  If,  however, 
that  resolve  gives  way  in  view  of  the 
difficulties  or  self-denials  entailed,  what  is  he 
to  do  ?  He  is  to  grip  his  purpose  once 
more, — to  try  to  tighten  the  slackened  hold 
of  his  Will  on  the  good  he  sees  best  calculated 
to  yield  genuine  wealth  and  peace.  He  is 
to  make  that  effort,  and  school  himself  to 
go  on  making  it ;  and  if  he  throw  himself 
on  the  gracious  influences  that  are  always 
available  for  the  upward-striving  soul,  he 
will  not  make  it  in  vain.  His  Will,  more 
and  more,  will  have  its  inclination  turned 
towards  the  things  that  are  truest  and  best. 
And  so  by  and  by  its  action  will  lean  towards 
those  things.  It  will  acquire  a  more  decided 
"  set ''  in  that  direction,  and  be  more  ready 
to  strain  forward  of  its  own  accord. 

This  is  the  way  in  which  all  brave  stead- 
fastness of  character  is  developed,  that 
steadfastness  which  shows  itself  in  high- 
purposed  persistency  in  seeking  the  good. 

There  is  also  the  action  of  the  Will  in 
the  resistance  of  temptation.  We  can  never 
be  too  acutely  alive   to   the   imperativeness 

93 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

of  dealing  decisively  with  the  beginnings  of 
evil.  The  first  steps  of  wrong  may  be 
specially  seductive,  and  they  may  be  pressed 
on  the  mind  by  considerations  that  wear  the 
look  of  plausibility  and  force.  But  if, 
nevertheless,  the  unsanctified  principle  they 
involve  be  recognised,  or  suspected,  it 
becomes  solemnly  binding  to  take  a  stand 
and  hold  the  Will  back,  and  save  it  from 
committing  itself  by  yielding.  The  golden 
chance  is  then,  for  then  it  is  that  resistance 
is  most  easy.  And  were  the  Will  roused  to 
resist  at  the  very  beginnings  of  evil,  the 
awful  problem  of  temptation  would  be 
simplified  immensely. 

Yet  we  have  to  confess  that  it  is  not 
always  at  the  beginnings  of  evil  that  the 
struggle  to  resist  is  made.  Often  rather  it 
is  only  after  the  bitter  effects  of  evil  have 
been  so  far  felt,  or  when  the  haunting  shame 
of  it  and  the  unrest  it  creates  have  struck 
home,  that  the  deep  longing  awakes  to  fight 
against  it,  to  cast  it  off,  and  rise  above  it, 
emancipated  and  free.  Still  even  in  that 
longing,  and  that  stinging  sense  of  shame, 
94 


The  Discipline  of  the  Will 

there  is  a  precious  opportunity.  Let  it  all 
be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  slack,  sluggish, 
feeble  Will, — let  all  the  penitence  and  regret, 
all  the  holiest  convictions,  and  all  the  burning 
yearnings  to  be  once  more  sincere  and  true, — 
let  all  these  be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  Will, 
and  brought  to  bear  upon  it  time  after  time, 
to  stir  it  up  from  its  languor,  and  nerve  it  for 
the  grim,  yet  grand,  wrestle  which  the  soul's 
redemption  requires. 

It  is  the  fatal  mistake  of  not  a  few  that 
they  rest  in  their  remorse  and  regrets,  or 
try  by  eager  distractions  to  forget  them,  and 
thereby  leave  themselves  limp  and  purpose- 
less in  presence  of  further  besetments  of 
temptation.  The  one  thing  to  do  is  to 
muster  every  pang  of  contrition,  every 
anxious  prompting  of  conscience,  and  every 
impulse  of  the  better  nature,  and  fling  the 
pressure  of  these  feelings  on  the  Will,  and  so 
persuade  or  constrain  it  to  put  forth  its 
power  in  the  stern  grapple  with  evil.  Thus 
only  is  it  possible  for  moral  victory  to  be 
won. 

It  is  a  stupendous  trust,  this  endowment 
95 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

of  a  free  and  independent  Will.  On  the 
fact  that  we  possess  it  our  individual  re- 
sponsibility rests,  and  for  the  manner  in 
which  we  exercise  it  we  must  individually 
answer.  Our  unceasing  aim,  therefore, 
should  be  to  deal  with  it  honestly,  and  make 
it  our  care  to  discipline  it  faithfully,  as  we 
have  the  ability  to  do,  seeking  ever  to  tune 
it  into  harmony  with  the  higher  will  of  God. 


96 


VII. 
THE    HALLOWING    OF   LOVE. 


97 


VII. 
THE   HALLOWING   OF  LOVE. 

"  A  new  commandment  I  give  unto  you,  That  ye 
love  one  another  ;  as  I  have  loved  you,  that  ye  also  love 
one  another.*' — John  xiii.  34. 

"  And  walk  in  love,  as  Christ  also  hath  loved  us,  and 
hath  given  Himself  for  us." — Eph,  v.  2. 

The  transcendent  endowment  of  the  soul  is 
its  capacity  of  loving.  In  the  passionate, 
clinging  fondness  so  abundantly  manifest 
between  man  and  woman,  parent  and  child, 
friend  and  friend,  immeasurable  depths  and 
possibilities  of  affection  are  revealed.  Love, 
indeed,  is  that  trace  of  the  divine  which 
shines  out  with  such  lustre  at  times  as  to 
redeem  the  sordidness  of  human  nature,  and 
cast  a  softer  tinge  even  over  its  stains. 
And  love  lends  the  touch  of  romance  which 
preserves  the  lives  of  multitudes  from  utter 
dreariness  and  inanity.  Its  beauty  and  its 
pathos,  its  joys  and  sorrows,  struggles  and 
99 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

triumphs,  belong  to  the  common  experience 
of  the  race,  and  serve  to  intensify  the  thrill 
of  existence. 

And  this  heightened  interest  which  love 
gives  to  life  is  reflected  in  the  literature  of 
the  world  all  down  the  ages.  In  poetry  and 
in  song  it  is  the  enchantment  of  this  theme 
that  inspires  the  sweetest  strains  and  wields 
the  strongest  spell ;  and  many  a  moving 
story  is  full  of  the  wonderful  things  endured, 
dared,  and  accomplished  under  the  pressure 
of  love's  ardent  flame. 

To  purify  love  at  the  core,  and  infuse  into 
it  a  higher  temper,  was  the  object  on  which 
the  Lord  Jesus  concentrated  the  main  current 
of  His  teaching  and  the  labour  of  His  life. 
The  love  which  burned  in  Himself  was  pure 
and  warm  and  deep,  an  outbreathing  of  the 
Eternal  Love  that  throbs  in  the  Divine 
Father's  heart  ;  and  His  anxiety  was  to 
draw  men  and  women  within  its  range,  that 
they  might  catch  its  glow,  and  get  their  own 
love  imbued  with  a  spirit  that  would  bring  it 
into  unison  with  His.  "Love  one  another  as  1 
have  loved you^'  was  the  "new  commandment" 
lOO 


The  Hallowing  of  Love 

He  sought  to  enforce,  and  that  command- 
ment was  echoed  in  the  apostolic  injunction, 
"Walk  in  love,  as  Christ  also  hath  loved  us^ 

"As  I  have  loved  you'*  ;  "as  Christ  also 
hath  loved  us."  There  the  standard  is  set 
for  the  exercise  of  our  affections. 

How,  then,  did  Jesus  love  ?  What  was 
there  that  was  specially  characteristic  in 
the  love  He  displayed  ? 

For  one  thing,  it  was  a  love  pervaded  by 
the  profoundest  reverence. 

It  is  impossible  not  to  be  struck  with  the 
sensitive  respect  which  Jesus  showed  to 
every  human  being.  Never  would  He  trifle 
with  the  conscience  or  the  feelings  of  any- 
one with  whom  He  came  in  contact.  He 
recognised  in  every  soul — the  soul  of  man 
or  woman — the  stamp  of  the  Divine  image, 
and  felt  constrained  to  honour  it  ;  and  that 
gave  to  His  love  an  elevation  that  was 
beautifully  chastened  and  pure. 

Moreover,  it  was  a  love  actuated  by  a 
great  yearning — the  yearning  to  impart  the 
fullest  measure  of  good  and  the  highest 
enrichment  of  life. 

lOI 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

Some  imagine  they  love  when  they  simply 

desire  to  he  loved — when  they  pine  to  enjoy 

all  the  warm  regard  and  tenderness,  and  all 

the  kindly  service,  which  another  heart  can 

render  ;    and    that,  no  doubt,  is  a  perfectly 

natural   feeling.       Nevertheless,    in    its  own 

essence,  the  desire  to  be  loved  is  not  love. 

Jesus  desired  to  be  loved  ;  His  heart  reached 

out    for    confidence,    friendship,     sympathy. 

But  the  supreme  passion  which  moved  Him 

was  a  longing  to  give  rather  than  to  receive, 

"  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister  " 

(Matt.  XX.  28).     And  what  He  longed  to  give 

was  of  His  best,  and  for  the  best  interests  of 

those  for  whom  He  cared.     His  love  was  an 

irrepressible  yearning  to  lavish  the  wealth  of 

His  own  soul  on  other  souls,  to  pour  out  on 

other  souls  the  treasures  of  blessedness  which 

He  Himself  enjoyed  in  the  fellowship  and 

service  of  the  Father,  and  thereby  to  make 

them  also  rich  in  true  and  satisfying  good. 

Here,  in  this    reverential,    high-purposed 

love  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  we  find  the  ideal  of 

what  all  human  love  should  be.     And  when 

the    affection    we    bear    for  others   becomes 

102 


The  Hallowing  of  Love 

charged  v;lth  a  similar  delicacy  of  respect  for 
their  inviolable  spiritual  rights,  and  with  a 
similar  loftiness  of  aim  for  the  ennobling  and 
enriching  of  their  lives,  then  it  takes  on  a 
sanctity  it  did  not  possess  before.  It  is  tuned 
to  a  diviner  key.  That  is  the  Hallovt^ing  of 
Love — loving  as  Jesus  loved.  And  the  effect 
of  it  is  potent  and  sure.  It  transforms  the 
power  of  loving  into  a  gracious,  exalting  force 
which  tells  beneficently  on  life  in  many 
marvellous  ways,  and  these  are  indicated  by 
the  following  considerations. 


I.  The  Appreciative  Insight  of  Love. 

Nothing  sees  so  deeply  or  so  truly  into  the 
secrets  of  another's  character  as  love,  and 
nothing  is  so  quick  to  perceive  the  promise 
of  excellence  that  may  be  latent  there.  "  Love 
is  blind,"  says  the  old  proverb  ;  and  blind 
indeed,  in  some  sense,  it  may  be  to  surface 
blemishes  and  frailties  :  but  that  is  only 
because  its  gaze  is  fixed  so  intently  on  the 
capabilities  of  good  which  its  penetrating 
vision  has  discovered  beneath.     Experience 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

proves  that  love  has  a  piercing  intuition  to 
which  many  things  otherwise  invisible  are 
disclosed.  Every  one  knows  that  only  by  a 
heart  of  affection  in  a  fellow-man  can  his  own 
heart  be  read  justly.  No  person  who  judges 
with  suspicion,  jealousy,  or  frigid  indiffer- 
ence can  rightly  understand  another.  As 
Maeterlinck  puts  it :  "  He  who  sees  without 
loving  is  only  straining  his  eyes  in  the  dark- 
ness." In  fact,  the  more  fervent  the  regard 
we  cherish  for  those  bound  up  with  us  in  life, 
the  more  astonishing  becomes  our  keenness 
of  glance  in  discerning  the  better  qualities 
that  lie  hidden  behind  their  failings. 

But  that  keenness  of  glance  for  the  better 
qualities  is  vastly  quickened  if  the  affection 
that  beats  in  the  heart  is  hallowed  by 
sympathy  with  the  mind  and  heart  of  Christ. 
For  then  there  is  begotten  an  eagerness  to 
search  for  the  better  qualities,  and  to  recognise 
them  and  frankly  give  credit  for  them  wher- 
ever they  are  perceived.  As  to  how  love 
thus  worked  in  Jesus  we  have  notable  illus- 
trations in  His  appreciative  treatment  of  Peter 
(John  i.  42),  of  Zaccheus  (Luke  xix.  5-9),  and 
104 


The   Hallowing  of  Love 

of  the  Penitent  Woman  in  the  house  of  Simon 
the  Pharisee  (Luke  vii.  37-48). 

Recognition,  appreciation — that  is  precisely 
what  thousands  are  craving  for  amid  the 
weakness  and  failure  of  which  they  are  pain- 
fully conscious.  Who  can  reckon  the  bless- 
ing that  is  brought  to  human  souls  when 
they  feel  that  some  other  human  soul  really 
believes  in  the  good  that  is  in  them  yet,  and 
is  willing  to  respect  them  for  it,  willing  also 
to  make  allowance  for  their  infirmities  ?  That 
kindles  fresh  hope  in  many  a  heavy-laden 
breast.  It  wakens  the  earnest  resolve  to  act 
more  faithfully  on  the  higher  promptings 
that  still  stir  within.  It  inspires  to  a  renewal 
of  effort  in  living  the  true  life  and  treading 
the  upward  way.  Precious  beyond  concep- 
tion is  the  helpful  ministry  of  encouragement 
that  springs  from  the  appreciative  insight  of 
a  pure  and  Christlike  love. 

2.  The  Inventive  Genius  of  Love. 

The  ingenuity  of  love  is  proverbial  ;  and 
in  face  of  difficulties  encountered  in  meeting 
the  requirements  of  those  whose  good  it  seeks, 

105 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

love  displays  a  fertility  of  resource  which  is 
often  amazing.  It  can  devise  means  of  doing 
a  kindly  service,  or  in  forestalling  a  coming 
necessity,  on  which  mere  calculating  prudence 
could  never  have  hit. 

"Ah,  how  skilful  grows  the  hand 
That  obeyeth  love's  command ! 
It  is  the  heart,  and  not  the  brain, 
That  to  the  highest  doth  attain  ; 
And  he  who  followeth  love's  behest 
Far  exceedeth  all  the  rest." 

But  let  love  be  tuned  into  unison  with 
the  pure  spirit  of  Jesus,  and  its  ingenuity 
sets  to  work  in  a  peculiarly  lofty  direction. 
What  it  plans  to  do  then  is  to  raise  the 
standard  of  thought  and  action  within  the 
range  of  its  influence.  It  brings  its  tact  to 
bear  on  the  elevation  of  purpose  and  feeling 
in  other  minds.  This  we  see  in  the  case 
of  the  Master  Himself  What  unfailing 
resourcefulness  He  exhibited  in  meeting  the 
deeper  spiritual  needs  of  the  men  and  women 
with  whom  He  had  to  deal !  We  can 
scarcely  imagine  anything  wiser,  or  more 
dexterously  suited  to  the  occasion  and  the 
1 06 


The  Hallowing  of  Love 

persons  concerned,  than  His  method  of  pro- 
cedure with  Nicodemus  (John  iii.  1-13), 
the  Woman  of  Samaria  (John  iv.  1-20),  the 
Paralytic  at  Capernaum  (Mark  ii.  i-ii), 
Mary  of  Bethany  (John  xii.  1-8),  and  even 
with  Judas  Iscariot  and  Pontius  Pilate — 
though  with  regard  to  these  last  His  gracious 
intention  was  foiled.  The  inventiveness  of 
His  love  can  never  be  surpassed. 

And  for  the  sanctified  ingenuity  of  our 
own  love  there  is  ample  scope  afforded  in 
the  realm  of  home-life,  in  the  confidential 
intimacies  of  friendship,  and  in  every  close 
and  tender  bond  that  unites  heart  to  heart. 
There,  the  higher  the  quality  of  the  affection 
entertained,  the  more  surely  will  it  result  in 
a  mutual  endeavour  to  help  each  other  to 
nobler  ideals,  to  foster  in  each  other  generous 
sympathies,  to  lift  each  other  up  to  worthy 
aims.  Such  an  endeavour  has  its  perplexities 
and  its  exacting  demands,  yet  the  tactful  skill 
of  a  high  and  hallowed  love  may  be  counted 
upon  to  solve  the  problems  that  arise  ;  and 
it  may  accomplish  marvels  of  ingenuity  in 
carrying  out  the  sacred  purpose  it  has  in  view. 
107 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

3.  The  Sacrificial  Impulse  of  Love. 

Herein  lies  the  beauty,  as  well  as  the 
power,  of  love — in  its  ready  disposition  to 
bear  toil,  pain,  and  heavy  risk  that  others 
may  be  gladdened  and  helped.  What  touch- 
ing tales  the  secret  records  of  humanity 
could  tell  of  the  privations  and  sufferings 
endured,  without  murmuring  or  grudging, 
when  affection  was  the  motive  that  fired  the 
heart !  It  is  such  manifestations  of  self- 
devotion  that  shed  a  ray  of  brightness  over 
this  dark  world,  and  illumine  the  outlook 
for  the  ultimate  uplifting  of  the  race. 

Never  was  the  sacrifice  of  personal  interest 
and  ease  carried  to  a  degree  more  sublime 
than  by  Jesus,  our  Lord.  His  was  a  self- 
renunciation  which  confronted  scorn,  shame, 
hardship,  death  itself,  in  working  for  the 
spiritual  regeneration  of  men,  and  all  because 
of  the  love  for  them  which  glowed  in  His 
breast.  And  all  love  that  draws  its  inspiration 
from  His  will  show  a  kindred  willingness  to 
renounce  every  narrow  consideration  of  self, 
and  risk  every  sharp  severity,  in  the  effort 
108 


The  Hallowing  of  Love 

to  further  the  higher  well-being  of  any  soul 
it  can  reach.  And  if  ever  the  presence  of  a 
divine  element  in  our  maimed  human  nature 
is  revealed, — if  ever  there  are  felt,  shining 

"through  all  this  fleshly  dress 
Bright  shoots  of  everlastingness," — 

it  Is  when  the  self-devotion  of  a  Christlike 
love  gleams  in  the  eyes,  and  lights  up  the 
face,  and  impels  to  deeds  of  generous  service 
and  sacrifice  for  the  sake  of  lifting  another 
to  a  richer  good  and  a  purer  joy. 


4.  The  Victorious  Efficacy  of  Love. 

There  Is  a  subtle,  overmastering  attraction 
in  love  which  is  not  easy  to  resist.  The 
soured,  sullen  heart  leaps  up  to  greet  you, 
and  surrenders  to  you  its  confidence  and 
trust,  when  it  becomes  aware  of  your  affection- 
ate appreciation  of  the  germs  of  worth  it  still 
has  within.  You  draw  out  the  best  in  an- 
other by  the  sympathetic  recognition  of  his 
best  which  your  warm  good-will  prompts 
you  to  accord. 

109 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

And  when  love  goes  to  the  extent  of  self- 
sacrifice,  it  wields  a  conquering  power  which 
nothing  else  can  match.  Few  can  hold  out 
persistently  against  the  steady  devotion  of 
a  generous  soul  that  undertakes  hardships 
freely  in  planning  and  working  for  their 
good.  That  willing  endurance  of  labour 
and  pain  is  the  one  proof  of  love  which  even 
hatred  cannot  altogether  withstand.  Opposi- 
tion, anger,  jealousy,  bitterness  melt  away 
before  the  gracious  influence  of  a  sincere 
and  self-denying  love.  Indeed,  the  victories 
thus  gained  by  love  are  an  endless  surprise. 

Love  is  never  wasted.  Though  its  efforts 
may  seem  for  a  time  to  go  for  nought,  yet 
the  good  it  strives  to  accomplish  is  sure  to 
be  reached  in  some  measure  in  the  end. 
How  disappointing  all  the  lavish  self-devo- 
tion of  Jesus  appeared  when  those  whom  He 
sought  to  bless  rejected  Him  and  hounded 
Him  to  the  cross  !  And  yet  the  winning 
spell  of  that  very  self-devotion  worked  on 
more  mightily  than  ever  after  He  had  passed 
beyond  the  sphere  of  mortal  sight.  It  was 
the  charm  of  His  pure  and  self-renouncing 
no 


The  Hallowing  of  Love 

love  that  overcame  hostility  and  unbelief, 
and  it  is  overcoming  still.  That  cross  on 
which  He  died  has  been  making  its  silent 
appeal  to  generation  after  generation  as  the 
years  roll  by.  It  is  the  appeal  of  suffering, 
redeeming  love  ;  the  appeal  of  a  love  that 
sacrificed,  that  gave  up  all  in  self-forgetting 
passion  for  the  good  of  all,  that  saved  others 
though  itself  it  could  not  save.  And  before 
that  appeal,  obstinacy,  self-will  and  pride, 
reckless  vanity  and  hardened  viciousness, 
have  been  constrained  to  give  way  and  own 
themselves  conquered  by  its  divinely  capti- 
vating power. 

And  no  love  that  has  in  it  the  spirit  that 
pervaded  Christ^s  can  ever  toil  or  suffer  in 
vain.  Its  effects — though  for  long,  perhaps, 
unseen — are  real,  and  they  may  be  striking 
deeper  than  can  be  conceived.  They  may 
continue  to  grow  and  accumulate,  and  pro- 
duce an  ever-enlarging  amount  of  good  after 
the  earthly   life  has   come  to  a  close.     For 

"  Love  lives  on,  and  hath  a  power  to  bless 
When  they  that  loved  are  hidden  in  their  graves." 


Ill 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

5.  The  Imperishable  Vitality  of  Love. 

A  true  and  pure  affection,  fired  by  high 
and   sacred   aims,  is   a   deathless  thing.     It 
possesses  a  freshness  that  is  immortal.     The 
proverbs  of  the  world  have  seized  and  en- 
shrined this  truth.     "  Mother's  love  is  ever 
in  its  spring  "  ;  "  Many  waters  cannot  quench 
love  "  ;    "  True   love    never   grows   old  "  ; 
"  Love  is  strong  as  death."     In  point  of  fact, 
the  moment  one  soul  meets  another  in  the 
mutual  surrender  of  love,  there  rises  in  them 
the  consciousness  of  something  eternal.     And 
in   proportion   as   their   love  is  a   hallowed 
feeling,  sanctified,  as  Christ's  was,  by  rever- 
ence and  by  regard  for  life's  spiritual  ends, 
it   forms   a   bond  of    adamantine    firmness, 
which  only  grows  the  stronger  through  the 
changing  years,  as  the  burden  of  toil   and 
care  has  to  be  borne  together,  and  the  wrestle 
with   trouble  waged.     And    if  we   wish    to 
have   the  relish  of  life  heightened,  and  the 
heart  kept  young  up  to  life's  last  hour  and 
in    the  unseen  beyond,  our  sincere  anxiety 
should  be  to  cultivate  the  power  of  loving  as 
112 


The  Hallowing  of  Love 

Jesus  loved.  Then  a  benign,  sweetening 
influence  would  pass  into  all  our  closest 
human  relationships,  making  them  finer  and 
truer  ;  and  we  should  grasp  the  secret  of 
finding  blessedness  in  spreading  blessing, 
which,  as  Browning  reminds  us,  is  ever  a 
rich  and  sufficing  reward. 

**For  life,  with  all  it  yields  of  joy  and  woe, 
And  hope  and  fear — 

Is  just  our  chance  o'  the  prize  of  learning  love. 
How  love  might  be,  hath  been  indeed,  and  is ; 
And  that  we  hold  henceforth  to  the  uttermost 
Such  prize,  despite  the  envy  of  the  world.** 


H  113 


VIII. 

CHRIST'S    KNOWLEDGE    OF   THE 
SOUL. 


115 


VIIL 

CHRIST'S   KNOWLEDGE   OF   THE 
SOUL. 

"  He  knew  what  was  in  man." — John  ii.  25. 

"And  Jesus  knew  their  thoughts,  and  said  unto 
them." — Matt,  xii.  25. 

"  And  immediately  when  Jesus  perceived  in  His  spirit 
that  they  so  reasoned  within  themselves,  He  said  unto  them. 
Why  reason  ye  these  things  in  your  hearts  ? " — Mark  ii.  8. 

**  Jesus  saw  Nathanael  coming  to  Him,  and  saith 
of  him.  Behold  an  Israelite  indeed,  in  whom  is  no  guile ! 
Nathanael  saith  unto  Him,  Whence  knowest  Thou  me  ? 
Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  him,  Before  that  Philip 
called  thee,  when  thou  wast  under  the  fig  tree,  I  saw 
thee." — John  i.  47-48. 

A  UNIQUE  feature  in  Jesus,  as  compared  with 
other  great  leaders  and  teachers,  was  His 
attitude  towards  men.  It  was  marked  by  a 
strange  mingling  of  respect  and  reserve,  of 
confidence  and  caution,  yearning  tenderness 
and  watchful  restraint. 
117 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

An  Instance  of  this  is  recorded  in  connection 
with  one  of  His  visits  to  Jerusalem  at  the 
time  of  the  Passover  feast.  He  had  preached 
His  Good  News  to  the  pilgrims  and 
strangers  who  crowded  the  city,  and  had 
strongly  impressed  them  by  the  wonderful 
acts  of  healing  He  performed  ;  yet,  although 
many  of  them  believed  in  His  mysterious 
superiority  and  were  willing  to  recognise 
Him  as  Messiah,  He  held  Himself  warily 
back,  and  would  not  "  commit  Himself  unto 
them."  And  the  reason  suggested  by  the 
Evangelist  is  that  He  read  their  hearts  too 
clearly,  and  saw  that  their  newly  awakened 
enthusiasm  was  not  of  a  kind  to  be  trusted 
fully.  It  was  not  an  enthusiasm  founded  on 
devotion  to  His  spiritual  worth,  but  on 
extravagant  expectations  of  the  temporal 
power  and  splendour  it  was  hoped  He  would 
soon  assume.  He  longed  for  the  faith  of 
those  men  ;  but  the  faith  they  were  giving 
Him  was  shallow,  too  much  tinctured  with 
selfish  ideas  :  and  as  He  detected  this 
disappointing  element  in  it.  He  could  not 
freely  respond,  nor  throw  His  heart  open 
ii8 


Christ's  Knowledge  of  the  Soul 

as    otherwise    He   would    have    been    glad 
to  do. 

The  circumstance  is  particularly  noted  as 
an  example  of  the  profound  penetration  of 
Jesus.  He  understood  the  workings  of 
human  nature — understood  them  directly 
and  at  first  hand,  and  did  not  need  to  depend 
on  the  testimony  of  others.  He  could 
pierce  with  startling  accuracy  to  the  inmost 
secrets  of  men's  souls.  And  again  and 
again  in  the  story  of  His  life  there  is  abun- 
dant evidence  to  prove  the  Evangelist's 
statement  true,  that  "  He  knew  what  was  in 


man." 


The  Philosopher's  Grasp. 

I,  Jesus  knew  what  was  in  man  because  He 
saw  all  men  with  the  eye  of  a  Philosopher. 

It  is  the  province  of  the  philosopher  to 
search  into  the  human  mind  and  gain  a 
comprehension  of  its  various  faculties — what 
they  are,  what  each  is  fitted  for,  and  how 
they  act  and  react  upon  one  another.  And 
for  long  centuries  mental  science  has  been 
a  favourite  pursuit  among  learned  men. 
119 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

And  the  fascination  of  the  study  is  kept 
alive  by  the  new  aspects  of  human  nature 
which  are  ever  being  brought  to  light.  The 
philosopher,  as  he  pursues  his  investigations, 
discovers  the  marvellous  mechanism  of  man's 
inner  being — the  manifold  endowments  that 
compose  it,  the  complex  forces  that  work 
within  it  ;  and  he  tries  to  grasp  its  intricate 
movements  with  all  the  ingenuity  he  can 
command. 

Jesus  had  the  philosopher's  eye,  and  to 
Him  the  capacities  of  the  human  mind  were 
a  subject  of  absorbing  interest.  He  knew 
the  power  that  resides  in  the  Conscience, 
and  He  appealed  to  men  to  put  it  forth  by 
the  challenge,  "  Why  even  of  yourselves 
judge  ye  not  that  which  is  right  ? "  (Luke 
xii.  57).  He  knew  the  power  of  Memory, 
and  He  relied  on  His  disciples  to  use  it 
after  He  was  gone  in  preserving  and  record- 
ing His  words  and  deeds.  He  knew  the 
power  of  Imagination,  and  called  it  into 
service  by  His  parables,  as  a  means  of  appre- 
hending and  picturing  spiritual  truth.  He 
knew  the  colossal  power  of  the  Will,  and 
120 


Christ's   Knowledge  of  the  Soul 

reproached  the  sense-bound  and  wayward  for 
their  failure  to  exercise  it  aright  for  their 
lasting  good  :  "  Ye  will  not  come  unto  Me 
that  ye  might  have  life  '*  (John  v.  40). 
And  He  knew  the  benign  and  winsome 
power  of  Love,  and  sought  to  purify  its  tone 
and  quality,  that  it  might  become  a  richer 
source  of  blessing  to  mankind. 

The  elaborate  constitution  of  man's  spirit 
lay  with  amazing  clearness  before  His  vision. 
He  had  a  keen  discernment  of  its  intricate 
modes  of  operation,  and  He  always  stood 
before  it  with  a  certain  reverence,  but 
reverence  tinged  with  a  feeling  of  awe, 
because  He  discerned  also  the  perilous  per- 
versions to  which  it  is  liable.  The  fact  is 
that  no  one  ever  had  such  an  intense  con- 
ception of  the  grandeur  of  human  nature, 
and  at  the  same  time  no  one  was  ever  able 
to  realise  so  impressively  the  stupendous 
responsibility  which  the  possession  of  such 
a  nature  entails.  From  the  philosopher's 
standpoint  He  knew  what  was  in  man. 


121 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

The  Poet's  Intuition. 

2.  Jesus  knew  what  was  in  man  because 
He  saw  all  men  with  the  eye  of  a  Poet, 

To  know  the  constitution  of  human  nature 
as  the  philosopher  knows  it,  is  not  in  the 
truest  sense  to  know  men.  There  is  one 
who  penetrates  farther  than  the  philosopher, 
and  that  is  the  poet.  The  poet  gets  at  the 
inner  springs  of  a  man's  life  ;  he  feels  the 
pulse  as  the  philosopher  cannot  do.  Even 
in  the  interpretation  of  outward  physical 
nature,  the  poet  sees  deeper  than  the  man 
of  science  sees.  The  man  of  science,  the 
philosopher,  discovers  the  materials,  the 
forces  and  laws  of  working,  in  the  outer 
world  into  the  secrets  of  which  he  pries  ; 
but  the  poet  seizes  on  something  in  that  same 
outer  world  more  subtle,  more  elusive — and 
that  is  the  feelings  the  hidden  meaning,  the 
mystic  charm  or  majesty,  which  lies  behind. 
The  poet  can  tell  us  more  of  the  inner  spirit, 
the  mystery  and  glory,  of  the  material  world 
than  all  the  scientific  sages  can.  So,  in  the 
interpretation   of  human   nature,  where  the 

122 


Christ's   Knowledge  of  the  Soul 

mere  philosopher  sees  only  the  action  and 
interaction  of  certain  mental  and  emotional 
powers,  the  poet  sees  the  pathos  of  the  heart- 
strain,  the  nobleness  of  the  purpose,  the 
heroism  burning  through  the  homely  deed, 
or  the  dark  tragedy  behind  the  smiling  show. 
It  was  this  deeper  vision  of  the  poet  that 
Jesus  had  in  a  superlative  degree.  Physical 
nature  to  Him  was  an  open  book  which  He 
could  read  with  surpassing  ease,  drawing 
unexpected  suggestions,  hints  of  beauty  and 
wonder,  from  the  blooming  lilies  by  the 
lake- shore,  the  grape-clusters  hanging  on 
the  vines,  the  waving  corn  ripening  for  the 
harvest,  the  red  glow  of  the  clouds  in 
the  sunset  sky.  And  He  could  see  as  deeply 
into  human  nature  also.  He  could  discern, 
and  hold  up  to  view,  the  moral  worth  that 
lends  a  secret  dignity  to  the  most  common- 
place life  ;  He  could  discern  the  beauty  of 
feeling  that  may  shine  behind  the  simplest 
action,  the  wealth  of  heart  that  may  be 
concealed  under  the  plainest  exterior,  the 
brave  loyalty  to  right  that  may  give  its  high 
motive  to  the  daily  round  of  the  most  hum- 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

drum  duties.  He  could  discern  all  this,  and 
reveal  it  to  the  world's  gaze  for  all  coming 
time  in  a  way  that  has  never  been  rivalled. 
The  poet's  illuminating  vision — the  fine 
vision  of  imaginative  sympathy — was  pos- 
sessed by  Jesus  as  a  superb  and  original 
gift.  He  could  see  the  hidden  spiritual 
value  of  the  widow's  mites  cast  into  the 
temple  treasury  (Mark  xii.  42-44).  He 
could  see  the  rich,  tender  grace  of  the 
generous  offer  of  a  cup  of  cold  water 
to  a  thirsty  passer-by  (Matt.  x.  42).  He 
could  see  the  warm,  true  spirit  that  throbbed 
behind  a  healed  leper's  simple  gratitude 
(Luke  xvii.  17-19).  He  could  see  the 
ardent  struggle  of  hope  and  faith  that  heaved 
up  through  a  lowly  penitent's  tears  (Luke 
vii.  41-48).  He  knew  all  the  finest, 
noblest,  greatest  things  possible  for  the 
human  soul,  even  under  the  most  prosaic 
surroundings.  And  thus  He  has  shed  a  glow 
over  man's  existence  here  on  earth  that  is 
immensely  inspiring.  He  has  revealed  the 
secret  beauty,  the  moral  worth  and  dignity, 
which  a  man's  life  may  have  in  it,  lowly  on 
124 


Christ's  Knowledge  of  the  Soul 

the  surface  though  its  appearance  may  be. 
And  for  this  revelation  of  eternal  values  in 
the  plain  doings  of  plain  people  we  stand  for 
ever  in  His  debt,  since  it  is  fitted  to  kindle 
hope  and  courage  in  every  earnest  heart. 

The  Prophet's  Foresight, 

3.  Again,  Jesus  knew  what  was  in  man 
because  He  saw  all  men  with  the  eye  of  a 
Prophet. 

What  is  the  distinctive  characteristic  of  a 
prophet  ?  It  is  not  simply,  as  the  popular 
idea  supposes,  that  he  can  predict  the  future 
fortunes  of  men  or  nations  ;  it  is  something 
far  higher.  It  is  that  he  can  divine  before- 
hand the  inevitable  outcome  and  effect  of 
things — that  he  can  discern  the  direction  in 
which  particular  habits  and  dispositions  are 
bound  to  lead,  the  ultimate  results  to  which 
particular  forms  of  conduct  are  sure  to  come. 
The  prophet  takes  his  stand  not  on  mere 
cleverness,  or  the  faculty  of  second  sight, 
or  clairvoyance  of  any  sort,  but  on  what  he 
knows  of  the  fixed  eternal  laws  and  the 
moral  order  of  the  universe. 
125 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

That  was  the  position  of  the  ancient 
prophets  of  Israel.  They  were  not  mere 
predicters  of  coming  events  ;  they  were 
forecasters  of  the  good  or  evil  effects  which 
they  saw  must  necessarily  follow  from  the 
tendencies  at  work  in  their  own  times. 
They  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  essential  trend 
of  their  fellow-countrymen's  ways  of  living, 
of  the  blessing  or  the  curse  which  the 
principles  of  the  divine  government — which 
never  fail  to  operate — would  bring  upon 
their  actions  as  the  years  rolled  on.  It  was 
a  gift  of  high  order,  this  gift  of  prophetic 
foresight,  and  it  required  a  high  quality  of 
soul. 

It  belonged  to  Jesus  as  to  no  other.  He 
knew  men  not  only  as  they  actually  were, 
but  as — unconsciously  to  themselves — they 
were  gradually  growing  to  be.  He  had  a 
quick,  piercing  insight  into  the  consequences 
to  which  men's  tempers  and  modes  of 
conduct  were  tending.  From  the  particular 
desires  and  emotions  which  He  saw  seething 
in  a  man's  soul,  He  knew  whither  that  man 
was  going,  what  kind  of  future  he  was 
126 


Christ's  Knowledge  of  the  Soul 

making  for  himself,  what  the  issues  of  his 
life,  for  time  and  eternity,  would  be. 

And  His  teaching  on  this  point  is  of 
measureless  value.  We  owe  more  than  we 
can  estimate  to  Jesus  for  the  light  He  has 
flashed  on  the  inevitable  tendencies  of  the 
moral  dispositions  and  motives  that  sway 
human  hearts.  He  has  fulfilled  the  office 
of  a  prophet  inasmuch  as  He  has  given  us 
a  forecast  of  the  results  which  are  being 
steadily  wrought  out  in  the  depths  of  our 
being  by  the  inclinations  and  tempers  we 
most  habitually  cherish.  He  has  shown  us, 
because  He  saw  so  clearly  Himself,  that  a  pure 
and  real  satisfaction  is  the  infallible  outcome 
to  which  all  high  and  sacred  purpose  leads  ; 
and  that  emptiness,  darkness,  and  the  blight 
of  happiness  are  the  natural  effects  of  a 
greedy,  envious,  selfish  heart. 

The  Lover's  Idealism. 

4.  Above  all,  Jesus  knew  what  was  in  man 
because  He  saw  all  men  with  the  eye  of  a 
Lover. 

127 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

As  pointed  out  in  a  previous  section  of 
this  book,  love  is  quick  to  discern  the  hidden 
good  lying  beneath  the  faults  in  another's 
character,  and  also  that  love  is  eager  to  devise 
and  strive  for  the  unfolding  of  that  good 
and  the  freeing  of  it  from  its  encumbering 
imperfections. 

For  the  lover  is  usually  an  idealist. 

Now,  an  idealist  is  not,  as  many  conceive, 
a  sentimental  dreamer,  a  builder  of  castles  in 
the  air,  an  idle  visionary,  dwelling  in  a  realm 
of  vague,  ethereal  fancies.  An  idealist  is  one 
who  sees  the  mighty  law  behind  the  common- 
place fact — sees  the  possible  statue  within 
the  rough  block  of  stone,  the  rich  blossom 
within  the  dull,  colourless  bud,  the  potential 
goodness  within  the  imperfect  character. 

And  Jesus  was  a  great  Idealist  because 
He  was  a  great  Lover.  He  knew  what  was 
in  man  because  the  warm,  unselfish  yearning 
of  His  own  soul  drew  Him  into  living  touch 
with  all  the  latent  good,  all  that  was  truest 
and  best,  in  the  human  souls  around  Him. 
He  divined  that  latent  good,  and  felt  it ;  and 
what  was  more,  He  believed  in  it,  and 
128 


Christ's  Knowledge  of  the  Soul 

sought  to  call  it  forth  and  raise  it  to  perfec- 
tion. We  can  remember  how  He  caught 
sight  at  once  of  the  hidden  elements  of 
loyalty  and  strength  beneath  the  impetuous, 
volatile,  irritating  temperament  of  Simon 
Peter  (John  i.  42),  and  how,  with  His 
gracious,  longing  glance,  He  dived  into  the 
soul  of  the  shady-practiced  Zaccheus,  and 
beheld  in  him  the  makings  of  a  true  and  godly 
man  (Luke  xix.  8-9). 

No  doubt  Jesus  was  alive  to  all  the  flaws 
and  frailties  that  blemish  the  lives  of  men  ; 
yet,  just  because  He  loved  men,  and  loved 
them  so  intensely.  He  was  moved  to  seek 
for,  and  find  out,  the  slumbering  germs  of 
worth  in  every  soul  :  and  when  He  found 
them,  He  believed  in  them  ;  He  laboured 
to  stir  them  up,  to  develop  and  strengthen 
them,  to  nourish  them  to  fulness  and  power. 
He  saw  the  potential  nobleness  beneath  the 
actual  faultiness,  and  He  surrendered  Him- 
self to  the  task  of  helping  men  to  attain  that 
potential  nobleness  as  a  reality.  That  was 
the  work  to  which  He  devoted  His  life,  the 
object  for  which  He  faced  the  tragedy  of 
I  129 


The  Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul 

Calvary.  He  had  in  His  mind's  eye  the 
ideal  of  what  He  knew  and  believed  every 
man  has  it  in  him,  by  God's  grace,  to  be. 
And  the  vision  of  that  ideal — the  ultimate 
redemption  of  men's  souls  from  the  bondage 
and  stain  of  sin — was  the  joy  set  before  Him, 
the  joy  that  cheered  Him  on,  and  that  nerved 
Him  at  last  to  "  endure  the  cross,  despising 
the  shame." 

It  was  a  Divine  Lover's  sacrifice  for  what 
He  knew  to  be  worth  saving  in  every  human 
soul.  And  on  that  sacrifice  rests  His  claim 
upon  our  devotion  and  faith.  Love  should 
answer  love,  and  welcome  it — that  the  heart 
of  the  Lover  and  the  heart  of  the  loved  may 
be  knit  together  by  a  bond  which  neither 
change  nor  death  can  sunder. 


130 


APPENDIX. 

It  may  be  stated  that  in  this  work  the 
Higher  Powers  of  the  Soul  are  dealt  with 
specially  in  the  light  of  the  culture  that  may, 
and  ought,  to  be  given  to  them  under  the 
guidance  and  inspiration  of  Christ.  This  is 
the  aspect  of  the  subject  which  is  kept 
steadily  in  view,  and  it  accounts  for  the 
passages  of  exhortation  that  here  and  there 
occur. 

Ample  material  for  the  philosophical  study 
of  the  mental  and  moral  capacities  of  man 
may  be  found  in  the  standard  text-books  on 
Psychology,  and  in  the  writings  of  Professors 
Green,  Sidgwick,  and  William  James.  But 
in  following  a  practical  line  of  treatment, 
such  as  that  adopted  in  the  foregoing  pages, 
the  expositor  or  preacher  has  to  draw  from 
his   direct   observation    of  the   workings  of 

13^ 


Appendix 

human  nature,  and  from  the  results  of  careful 
reflection  on  his  own  personal  experience. 

In  addition  to  this,  however,  much  valu- 
able help  may  be  obtained  from  the  three 
separate  "  Studies  in  the  Christian  Character  " 
which  we  owe  to  Dean  Church,  Bishop  Paget, 
and  Dr.  J.  R.  Illingworth — works  which  are 
distinguished  by  their  chasteness  of  style,  fine 
insight,  lofty  range  of  thought,  and  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  subject. 

The  rich  stores  of  biographical  literature 
may  also  be  wisely  utilised,  as  a  means  of 
furnishing  concrete  examples  of  the  operation 
of  those  influences  which  tend  most  power- 
fully to  mould  the  life  of  the  soul. 


132 


INDEX. 


A,  SUBJECTS. 


Appreciation,  Love's     .     104 

Care,  Divine  .         .       59 

Choice,  the  power  of      27,  91 
Commonplace,    redeem- 
ing the         60,  69,  123,  128 
Compass,    deflection    of 

the  .  .  .  .10 
Conscience  .  .  .  3  ff ■ 
Courage,  moral  .  44,  72,  77 
Cross,  the  appeal  of  the .     1 1 1 

Discipline      .         .         •  7>  S8 

Earth    the    shadow    of 
heaven       ,         .         58,  60 

Faith     ...         46,  69 
Fate  and  personaUty       75,  83 

Gratitude  and  memory  39,  47 


Halo  in  life  . 

Heroism 

Hope,  transfiguring 


61 

55 

70 


Ideal,  the  .  42,  62,  92,  12S 
Idealist,  Christ  as  an  .  128 
Imagination  ,         .         .  52  ff- 


PAGE 

Individual  responsibility 

75,  84,  88,  96 
Inventiveness,  Love's  .  105 
Interpretation  of  facts      22-26 

Love     .        .        .        .  99  ff- 

Memory        .         .         •  35  ff« 
Motives,    choosing    the 
highest       ...       92 

Parabolic  teaching  51-52,  58 

Philosopher,  the    .  .119 

Poet,  the       .         .  .     122 

Prophet,  the .        .  .125 

Reason  .         .         .  19  ff. 

Religion,  adaptation  in  29-32 
Retrospect,  events  in  .  24 
Reverence  and  memory  .       38 

Sacrifice,  Love's    .  108  ff". 

Saviours  and  helpers  77-79 
Soul,  Christ's  knowledge 

of  the         .         .  117  ff. 

Spirit,  Divine        .         .         4 

Teaching,  Christian  .  9,  13 
Temptation  .         .     6,  II,  93 


13 


Index 


PAGE    1 

VAGK 

Values,  judgment  of 

26-28 

Will,  the       . 

.83flf. 

Visualising,  power  of 

.       54 

Wisdom,  practical 

40-42 

B,    QUOTATIONS   AND   REFERENCES. 

Arnold,  Matthew  . 

.       78 

Park,  Mungo 

.      56 

Browning 

viii,  113 

Savonarola     . 

•      55 

Byron    . 

.4,70 

Shelley . 

58,74 

Church,  Dean 

•     132 

Sicard's,  Abbe,  pupil 

•      39 

Illingworth,  Dr.  J. 

R. 

.     132 

Socrates 

viii 

Longfellow    . 

.     106 

Tennyson       .         .  45,  69,  83 

Luther  . 

55>  72 

Vaughan,  Henry    . 

.      109 

Maeterlinck  . 

75.  104 

Watts,  George  Frederick        3 

Morris,  Lewis        , 

.      71 

Wordsworth  . 

.       60 

Paget,  Bishop        , 

.     132 

C.    SCRIPTUR 

E  PASSAGES. 

Ex.  xxxiii.  21-23  • 

.      24 

Luke  xix.  5-9        , 

104,  129 

Deut.  viii.  2  . 

35 

John  i.  42      .         , 

104,  129 

Ps.  xxiii. 

59 

„    i.  47,  48 

.      117 

Matt.  vi.  22,  23 

3 

„    ii.  25     . 

.      117 

„     X.  42   . 

124 

,,    m.  1-13 

.      107 

„     xn.  25 

117 

„    iv.  1-20. 

.      107 

„     xiii.  24 

51 

„    V.  40     . 

83,   121 

„     xiii.  34 

.      51 

„    xii.  1-8 

.      107 

„     XX.  28. 

.     102 

„    xm.  34. 

.       99 

Mark  ii.  i-ii 

.     107 

Acts  xvii.  I,  2 

.       19 

„     ii.  8     . 

.     117 

,,    xxiv.  16 

3 

„     xu.  42-44 

.     124 

Eph.  iii.  17   . 

.      63 

Luke  vii.  37-48 

105,  124 

„     v.  2       . 

.       99 

„     xii.  57  . 

3,  120 

I  Tim.  i.  19  . 

3 

„    xvii.  17-19 

.     124 

I  Pet.  i.  21    . 

.       67 

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